Taking your toddler to the store can be a challenge. Will those chubby fingers accidentally knock over something valuable? Will he say something embarrassing just as you’re trying to have a nice adult conversation? Oddly enough, White House insiders prepping Donald Trump for his first overseas visit have exactly the same concerns.
Besieged by controversy at home, U.S. President Donald Trump is under pressure to stick to the script and avoid fresh flare-ups when he embarks this week on his first foreign trip, a nine-day trek to the Middle East and Europe.
But considering his behavior issues at home, there’s a lot of worry about taking Trump out in public.
Some doubt whether Trump, a businessman-turned politician who never held elective office before becoming president in January, is ready for a smooth presidential debut abroad.
It’s not being a “businessman” that’s Trump’s problem. It’s his lack of experience in being responsible, thoughtful, empathetic, or humble. All those things we’re supposed to learn in kindergarten. However, in an effort to minimize the damage from Trump’s visit, the White House is working to Trump-proof the world. Keeping breakables away from stubby fingers. Keeping speeches short enough for Trump to understand.
NATO is scrambling its upcoming meeting to avoid Donald Trump’s notoriously short attention span. The alliance is telling heads of state to limit talks to two to four minutes at a time …
The world could learn from the National Security Council.
Staff members are being forced to strategically include the President's name in the reports to ensure that he keeps reading and doesn't get distracted, they said. National Security Council officials make sure "as many paragraphs as we can because he keeps reading if he's mentioned", they told Reuters.
If those presidents and prime ministers could just find a way to squeeze in Trump’s name now and then, they might be able to talk for five, even six minutes without Donald Trump wandering away to find something new to play with. Honestly, if you’re giving a talk about the concerns of your nation, how hard is it to fit in a mention of Trump? It seems like a natural.
Of course, there’s more to worry about than just NATO. With stops in Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Rome, Trump has opportunities to offend most major world religions in a single pass.
One Republican official, who requested anonymity in order to speak freely, said after meeting Trump recently he did not think the president had a firm enough grasp on the nuances of the long-running Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"I don't think he understands it," said the official, adding that Trump needed more detailed briefings before leaving on Friday. "I think it's a very difficult challenge and I hope he's going to talk to a lot of smart people."
Just so long as none of those smart people try to talk to Trump for more than two minutes.