‘Wolf warrior’ diplomacy and lessons for President Trump
A recent quote in the Atlantic caught my eye. In an article discussing the Trump administration’s designs on Cuba, a source who had been part of the discussions in the White House said:
“Trump’s approach is: ‘We control our hemisphere, and we have the ability to do this. We want these hostile regimes out of our hemisphere, and we’re going to set up the business community, because we don’t believe in diplomacy’.”
I don’t think that last part is true. Clearly the President believes in diplomacy or, at least, says he does when it serves his purpose, but it is also clear that it is a different kind of diplomacy that is weighted toward the use of leverage and not so much negotiation and compromise, despite how much he prides himself as a dealmaker.
One can call it leverage, or coercion, or what was called — back in the day — gunboat diplomacy.
Trump’s first Secretary of Defense James Mattis said that America’s military is the umbrella under which it conducts its diplomacy. However, it seems that President Trump sees our military not so much as an umbrella as more of a cudgel.
The president has used threats, sanctions, tariffs, and bombs to create his leverage far more than any other president. He does not put forward proposals so much as demands. It does not always work.
When tariffs against China were met with a cut-off in access to rare earths, he backed off. When threats against Greenland were met with the deployment of a small contingent of trip-wire European troops, he backed off. Now that Iran has used access to the Strait of Hormuz to roil markets and the world economy, the president is looking for an exit strategy.
The president’s conduct of diplomacy is non-traditional in another way. He seems to prefer doing it without diplomats.
Yes, his friend the real estate developer Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law (also a real estate developer) Jared Kushner have become a two-man State Department, handling negotiations involving Iran, Ukraine and Israel-Hamas among other conflicts, but no one will confuse them with Kissinger and Holbrook.
Secretary of State and National Security Adviser Marco Rubio — theoretically the nation’s top diplomat — seems to play just a supporting role. Career diplomats are nowhere to be seen.
In the first year of his administration, the President allowed DOGE to reduce personnel at the Department of State by some 3,200 including hundreds of Foreign Service Officers, eliminating decades of experience.
In like manner, the National Security Council staff was also reduced by at least 100 individuals, most subject-matter experts, including half of the office that deals with the Middle East. Reports are that both State officials and the NSC staffs are largely ignored.
There is also the matter of some 80 ambassadorial posts that remain vacant. An ambassador is the personal representative of the president and when one is not appointed, it is seen as a sign of disrespect by the hosting country. Key posts — Russia, Saudi Arabia, Germany, Egypt, Venezuela — remain unfilled.
The chargés d’affaires who head those embassies do the best they can, but it is not the same as having an engaged ambassador (I know, as I served some time as a chargé). The president’s prioritization of loyalty over expertise has done damage that will take decades to repair and muffles America’s voice around the globe.
Then again, the voice from Truth Social seems to be the only one that matters.
Diplomacy, when done right, involves knowledge, experience, patience, creativity, and, above all, perseverance. A couple of years ago, China tried an in-your-face style of diplomacy called “wolf warrior” diplomacy. It utterly failed. It’s a lesson President Trump should heed.
• Keith Peterson, of Lake Barrington, served 29 years as a press and cultural officer for the United States Information Agency and Department of State. He was chief editorial writer of the Daily Herald 1984-86. His book “American Dreams: The Story of the Cyprus Fulbright Commission” is available from Amazon.com.