With Trump taking office in the United States, one of the issues that has attracted attention, as in his previous presidency, is his tendency to insult leaders from different countries who meet with him.
According to Ashura News, citing Mehr, with Trump taking office in the United States, one of the issues that has attracted attention, as in his previous presidency, is his tendency to insult leaders from different countries who meet with him. This has been Trump's consistent approach during his first and current term as president, and has been repeated in his meetings with most world leaders.
Trump's history of insulting world leaders
Trump has been insulting world leaders since the beginning of his first term in office in 2017. According to a 2019 New York Times report, Trump has insulted 598 people and places on Twitter alone from 2017 to May 24, 2019. Trump has targeted domestic and foreign officials with insults and insults. In 2019, Trump described General James Mattis, who was the US Secretary of Defense from 2017 to 2019, as the most worthless general in the world. He also called some Republicans "nosy" when they criticized Trump during the impeachment inquiry.
In April 2018, Trump blamed Putin for the deaths of women and children for supporting Bashar al-Assad. He also called Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua a "troika of tyranny." At the G7 summit in June 2018, Trump called Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau "very dishonest and weak." At the same meeting, he threw candy at then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel and said, “Don’t say I’ll never give you anything.” Trump also said in an interview with the Sun newspaper that Prime Minister Theresa May ruined Brexit. The US president also tweeted after Macron proposed a single European army: “Emmanuel suffers from very low approval ratings in France.”
Trump’s approach has often drawn criticism from politicians in other countries. Kevin Rudd, the Australian ambassador to the US, said of Trump in 2020: “He is the most destructive president in history, dragging America and democracy through the mud.” British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in 2018: “He is a sociopath who hates women and sympathizes with neo-Nazis and is a profound threat to the international order.” Jean Asselborn, former Foreign Minister of Luxembourg, said of Trump after the January 6, 2021 riots in the US: “He should be tried in a criminal court.” Croatian President Zoran Milanovic also said in 2021: “Trump has ruined everything.”
The rise of insults in the current era
However, in the past few weeks, as Trump’s second term began, his insults to world leaders have intensified. Robert C. Rowland, a professor of political rhetoric at the University of Kansas, said of Trump’s insulting approach in the past few weeks: “Trump’s recent lack of coherence and negative sentiment are things that I find very striking. There is almost no discussion of politics now. Insults have kind of replaced it.”
In the weeks since his presidency, Trump has repeatedly insulted people and officials at home and abroad. He insulted the former US president during his inauguration speech, with Biden sitting a short distance away. He also called immigrants from Latin American countries criminals and escapees from mental hospitals, and said in an interview: "A lot of criminals have infiltrated our country from the border and we need to send them back to their countries."
In addition, Canadian and Mexican officials, in response to Trump's tariffs, described his approach to their countries as stupid and insulting. Trump's most obvious insulting aspect so far appeared in an argument with Ukrainian President Zelensky at the White House. Trump appeared in an aggressive tone in this argument, accusing Zelensky of ungratefulness and saying: "You should be more grateful! Either you agree to a peace agreement, or we'll back off." Emphasizing that Ukraine cannot survive against Putin without American support, he called for more gratitude and acceptance of a ceasefire agreement.
Reasons for Trump's Approach, Narcissistic Personality
One reason for Trump's approach goes back to his personality. Referring to Trump’s narcissism, Robert J. Lifton, a research psychiatrist, believes that for him, the only point of reference is himself. His behavior towards others, from his family to his tenants, political rivals, victims of the Los Angeles fire and the displaced people of Gaza, not only shows a lack of empathy, but also emotional blindness. The important point that the psychiatrist noted is that Trump enjoys humiliating others; because it keeps him at the center of the stage.
The return of America first
Under Trump, America continues to participate in the international system solely for the purpose of achieving direct and national interests, and not to support Washington’s allies. The origin of Trump’s foreign policy is the pursuit of a policy of American economic superiority. The Ukraine issue clearly showed that Trump is willing to ignore Russia’s violation of international regulations if he feels that he will achieve greater economic benefits. The approach of belittling and even insulting the leaders of countries because he views the world from the perspective of the president of a superpower allows Trump to pursue a self-serving agenda and not attach much importance to long-term geopolitical developments and the continuation of relations with key partners.
The result: increasing fault lines between the United States and its allies
The result of Trump’s approach is an increasing fault line of distrust between the United States and its allies, especially the Europeans. Trump’s aggressive, reckless, and unpredictable personality has caused foreign leaders to be more uncertain and skeptical about American policies and goals. In his article in Foreign Policy on February 3, referring to Trump’s statements about Canada, the Panama Canal, and Greenland, Stephen Walt considered respect for neighboring and allied countries to be an important factor in America’s superiority. This is while Trump’s approach is now sending the message to allies that they may be the next country to be threatened by Trump.
Referring to joint actions and meetings between the leaders of Mexico, Panama, Canada, and the European Union regarding their joint response to Trump's tariff policy, he warned that continuing Trump's approach would harm many countries.
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