Trump's Big CON: He's a Foreign (and Domestic) Policy Weakling

UPDATE: "Trump looks weaker, less effective and even more ridiculous than anyone might have anticipated — and it happened surprisingly quickly, too."

Read the Washington Post, Donald Trump is suddenly looking like a very weak autocrat.

First, Trump put Iran “ON NOTICE,” then did nothing.

Then he impulsively claimed to renounce a long-standing One China policy after he promised to review Taiwan's status and bring China "to heel", only to cower recently to Chinese demands to reaffirm the policy.

Now he "looked both weak and incompetent", saying little in response to North Korea’s missile tests after claiming earlier the ICBM test "won’t happen".

"Trump ran for president boasting of his supposedly legendary negotiating and management skills while promising that he alone could fix the problems ailing the country. But three weeks into his presidency, a combination of inexperience, lack of attention to detail and an engaged opposition inside and outside the government have left him as the weakest new president in modern American history.

Trump’s governing style to date can only loosely be called management. He makes decisions quickly, often without consulting relevant experts or even his own appointees. He reads almost nothing, at most a few bullet points—often ripped straight from cable TV—that cannot possibly capture the nuance of complicated policy issues. When his hastily considered decisions backfire in inevitable ways, he doubles down and attacks any critics who point out either the folly or impracticability of his orders.

As with the bellowing Wizard of Oz, however, those boisterous attacks merely hide the weakness of the man behind the curtain, weakness that has already been exploited by both his staff and outside interests. . .

Trump’s rolling circus of chaos has also confounded the press, which can barely dig into one major controversy before a new one erupts.

But for all the president’s authoritarian tendencies and unwillingness to respect traditional norms and institutions, his inability to moderate his mouth, effectively manage the government or successfully negotiate with foreign leaders have left his presidency wounded and weakened. He will undoubtedly manage some successes over the coming months, but the character flaws that have been so evident throughout his public life have so far proved largely debilitating inside the Oval Office."

Read Politico, Donald the Weak, which noted "Trump may aspire to be a strongman, but he's proving to be an exceptionally ineffectual president."