December 5, 2018--Homebody

Have you noticed that Trump seems to be cutting back on his overseas travel? Way back?

Last month, he skipped three annual summits in Asia--the first time since 2013 that an American president has been absent. He sent Mike Pence in his place and left him on his own to tussle with China's president, Xi Jinping.

And he canceled scheduled visits to Ireland on the way home from the recent G-20 meeting which was held in Argentina.

White House aides said the president was too busy to stop in Bogota, a visit intended as a make up after Trump canceled a trip to Peru and Colombia in the spring. The Ireland stop, which was supposed to be tacked onto a recent trip to Paris, reportedly was to include a check-in at the Trump International Golf Links at Doonbeg. Not even a round of golf on one of his course could lure him.

What's up?

First, he likes to sleep in his own bed. During the 2016 presidential campaign after rallies he almost always flew home to New York City, to Trump Tower, no matter the distance, so he could curl up with his "blanky."

Then, he doesn't do group very well. At the G-20, for example, he had to share some of the spotlight with the other 19 leaders who attended. Considering his ego--always wanting to have the focus on himself--the thought of sharing the stage with his peers likely made his skin curl.

At the G-20, as the time drew near when he could make it back to the security of his bunk in Air Force One, he was caught on a hot mic, barking at one of his aides, "Get me out of here."

Or how fun is it to travel if all the other world leaders dislike him so much (I'm being kind putting it that way)? While away he therefore has no one to schmooze with. 

When in Buenos Aires, how he must have envied seeing Vladimir Putin and Saudi Arabia's murderous dictator MBS (Mohammed bin Salman) high-fiving and having the time of their lives joshing about how they handle dissidents and annoying journalists. One could see the sulking Trump eyeing them enviously.  

For various reasons it would not have been politically wise for there to be an equivalent video of Trump yucking it up with these erstwhile pals.

Also, Trump is scaling back on his overseas travel for fear that one time when he is on another continent there will be a coup back home and he will find himself thrown out of office and Trump Tower converted to public housing.

This is a common concern of dictators where this sort of thing actually happens. For example to Cambodia's Pol Pot and Uganda's Idi Amin.

So look for Pence and Mike Pompeo to be on the road and racking up those frequent flyer miles.

August 8, 2013--Boys . . .

Barack Obama's decision to cancel his summit meeting scheduled for September with Vladimir Putin is a sad example of how even silly emotions can get in the way of acting wisely.

Obama is upset that the Russians refused to extradite Edward Snowdon, the Booz Allen contract worker who downloaded and distributed thousands of documents that reveal how the NSA and CIA extra-legally gather data about virtually all of us and many citizens of other countries as part of the war on terrorism.

Yes, Putin should have found a way to fudge things, including swallowing some of his own pride and sense of manhood and turned him over to American authorities. But he is so angry that the Soviet Union lost the Cold War (he was a KGB spy during those years) and is no longer a true superpower, that he is emotionally primed to behave like a child with a temper tantrum whenever an American president wants to talk about making mutually-advantageos deals. And in Obama, in that regard, he has found his macho-challeneged match.

Just look at the mopey pictures of the two of them at the recent G-8 summit. This is no way for grown men to act. Particularly seemingly grown men who in many ways hold the fate of the world in their hands.

These leaders do not have to like each other, but they need to talk and talk and talk with each other to see if through persistence, if nothing else, they can agree about a few things.

Things such as nuclear arms limitation. Though this is not a sexy subject at the moment, we should remind ourselves that the U.S. and Russia still have thousands of warheads that are relics of the Cold War that are hardly needed in today's world unless Putin and Obama, in their mutual petulance, stumble into restarting it.

Then, there is Syria. Russia is Bashar al-Aasad's main backer, supplying sophisticated arms to prop up his genocidal regime as a way of Russia maintaining its influence in the region.

And Russia, an ally of Iran's, is well-positioned to help broker a deal to get them to back away from their self-destructive nuclear weapons program. Again, currently refusing to do so, Putin does not want to appear to be an instrument or lap dog of the West (particularly of the U.S.) to friends and foes in that neighborhood.

Big-power diplomacy shouldn't be personal. In this case, it should be about what is in the best interest of each of our countries. Presidents Obama and Putin should take a step back, turn off the frowns and negative body language, and get to work as if they were adults.