# What will be Trump's First Foreign Policy Crisis? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [December 3, 2016, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-trumps-first-foreign-policy-crisis/773702 "2016-12-03T02:47:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2016, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-trumps-first-foreign-policy-crisis/773702/61 "2016-12-04T21:16:26Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > So, you’re retracting your claim that it’s fake though, right? No. [Trump’s supposed ‘Muslim registry’ is just more fake news](http://nypost.com/2016/11/21/trumps-supposed-muslim-registry-is-just-more-fake-news/) ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2016, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-trumps-first-foreign-policy-crisis/773702/62 "2016-12-04T21:19:46Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > No. [Trump’s supposed ‘Muslim registry’ is just more fake news](http://nypost.com/2016/11/21/trumps-supposed-muslim-registry-is-just-more-fake-news/) How (rolleyes) convincing. So the fact he actually said it doesn’t matter. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2016, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-trumps-first-foreign-policy-crisis/773702/63 "2016-12-04T21:40:37Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I’m not sure North Korea has enough vehicles of any variety to transport 1 million people at once, let alone specifically military vehicles. That would be a HUGE logistics operation that I don’t believe North Korea is capable of. Don’t forget their 25,000 miles of railroad. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2016, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-trumps-first-foreign-policy-crisis/773702/64 "2016-12-04T21:57:12Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > How (rolleyes) convincing. > > So the fact he actually said it doesn’t matter. I think the right is getting defensive about the term “fake news” and is making every effort to make it meaningless. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2016, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-trumps-first-foreign-policy-crisis/773702/65 "2016-12-04T22:06:11Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > Don’t forget their 25,000 miles of railroad. I thought it was more like a quarter of that ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2016, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-trumps-first-foreign-policy-crisis/773702/66 "2016-12-04T22:13:18Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > I think the right is getting defensive about the term “fake news” and is making every effort to make it meaningless. Bingo. “You say it’s fake? You’re the fake! YOU’RE THE FAKE! NO YOU!” ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2016, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-trumps-first-foreign-policy-crisis/773702/67 "2016-12-04T22:15:08Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Yes, quite a few times. Back and forth, here and there. > > Nobody knows what the policies of the United States are anymore. One has to consult twitter to see what they are at any given time. It’s almost beyond parody now which means it’s almost true. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2016, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-trumps-first-foreign-policy-crisis/773702/68 "2016-12-04T22:43:30Z")
China is giving trump the benefit of the doubt, in polite terms saying he was ["showing his inexperience"](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/04/donald-trump-taiwan-call-exposes-inexperience-china-state-media-say)in accepting a call from the President of Taiwan. > [@](#): > > n an editorial published on Sunday, the China Daily, a \*\*state-run \*\*English-language newspaper, said the affair had “exposed nothing but his and his transition team’s inexperience in dealing with foreign affairs”. In other words, Trump and his team are simply idiots, and they did not actually mean any harm. (If the Chinese were from the US south, they would have said “well bless his heart, he means well”) [Meanwhile, Kellyanne Conway is doing her best](http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/news/conway-trump-well-aware-of-us-china-policy/vi-AAl4qEG?refvid=AAkXFdF) to convince us that Trump is not an idiot, and really “well aware of” what the one-China policy is, as does his transition team. In other words, she’s trying to tell us that this was a VERY DELIBERATE snub of China, and a deliberate reversal of long-standing policy by Trump. Well? Which is it? China seems to be trying to help Trump keep face and give him an out. Trump’s team seems determined to keep shitting their pants. Basically, they’ve just told China “Fuck you China, Trump knew exactly what he was doing.” Good luck with that. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2016, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-trumps-first-foreign-policy-crisis/773702/69 "2016-12-04T23:31:56Z")
I’m torn between whether it would be worse if Trump did this on purpose or by accident. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2016, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-trumps-first-foreign-policy-crisis/773702/70 "2016-12-04T23:50:59Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > I’m torn between whether it would be worse if Trump did this on purpose or by accident. It’s more like a four year old who wants to do something. They don’t understand why they can’t (or shouldn’t), they just know they want to. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2016, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-trumps-first-foreign-policy-crisis/773702/71 "2016-12-04T23:59:36Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I thought it was more like a quarter of that Sry, that was 25,000 kilometers, not miles. My mistake. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-trumps-first-foreign-policy-crisis/773702/72 "2016-12-05T01:18:37Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > I’m torn between whether it would be worse if Trump did this on purpose or by accident. Apparently the call was planned weeks ago. Plausible? \ From another thread [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=19829459&postcount=91). > [@Trump calls Pakistan, Taiwan and other world leaders to chat](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-calls-pakistan-taiwan-and-other-world-leaders-to-chat/773693/91): > > The Washington Post has something on this: > [Trump’s call with Taiwan’s leader looks like a calculated move, some experts say](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/trumps-call-with-taiwans-leader-looks-like-a-calculated-move-some-experts-say/2016/12/04/52ff3304-ba15-11e6-817f-e3b588251d1e_story.html) > > > [@](#): > > > > In an article for Foreign Policy titled “Donald Trump’s Peace Through Strength Vision for the Asia-Pacific,” Peter Navarro and Alexander Gray called Taiwan a “beacon of democracy in Asia” and complained that its treatment by the Obama administration was “egregious.” > > > > The article, flagged to China experts as a significant policy blueprint, described Taiwan as “the most militarily vulnerable U.S. partner anywhere in the world” and called for a comprehensive arms deal to help it defend itself against China. > > > > Friday’s phone call does not necessarily mean that will happen, but it does look like the first sign of a recalibration by a future Trump administration, experts say. > > > > It was planned weeks ahead by staffers and Taiwan specialists on both sides, tweeted Julia Famularo, a research affiliate at the Project 2049 Institute, an Arlington-based think tank, adding that she had spoken to someone with direct knowledge. > > > > The goal was to address and amend counterproductive “protocols” that prohibit direct contact between the U.S. president and Taiwan’s leader, she wrote. > > > > “Of course both sides agreed ahead of time before making contact,” Alex Huang, a spokesman for Tsai, told the news agency Reuters. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-trumps-first-foreign-policy-crisis/773702/73 "2016-12-05T02:19:13Z")
I’m a bit worried about some of our fellow Boardsters, specifically those who feel called to defend Il Douche. Anxiety, to be sure. Even if only a message board, the conflicts can be brutal, even injurious. I fear they may begin to suffer Traumatic Post Stress Disorder. Fud-a-boom _ting_! ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-trumps-first-foreign-policy-crisis/773702/74 "2016-12-05T02:46:17Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > I’m a bit worried about some of our fellow Boardsters, specifically those who feel called to defend Il Douche. Anxiety, to be sure. Even if only a message board, the conflicts can be brutal, even injurious. > > I fear they may begin to suffer Traumatic Post Stress Disorder. Fud-a-boom _ting_! “Only” a message board?? Sir, you confound and flabbergast me. Simultaneously. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-trumps-first-foreign-policy-crisis/773702/75 "2016-12-05T03:11:16Z")
That would make one _hell_ of an emoticon! ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-trumps-first-foreign-policy-crisis/773702/76 "2016-12-05T04:21:53Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > This is precisely what I mean when I say we must not “normalize” Trump’s crazy behavior. We must not piece-by-piece get okay with the dufus-like bullshit he is pulling. > > Whether or not the phone call was a big nothing is, in itself, _completely beside the point_, \*\*except \*\*that it illustrates his impulsive, uninformed, toddler-like, shoot-from-the-hip style. > > . You’re right that the phone call illustrates bigger problems with Trump, but we and the world have to live with him for at least four years, so we may have to normalize his behavior to the extent that we will have to write off things he says as just things he says. When most Presidents speak, their words have great significance. That’s probably an idea that should have been discarded anyway, but for Trump especially we have to not interpret his statements as actual policy unless the White House issues a statement saying that policy has been changed. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-trumps-first-foreign-policy-crisis/773702/77 "2016-12-05T04:44:53Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I’m not sure North Korea has enough vehicles of any variety to transport 1 million people at once, let alone specifically military vehicles. That would be a HUGE logistics operation that I don’t believe North Korea is capable of. My favorite fact about the North Korean military is that they have an east coast naval force and a west coast naval force. The reason for this is that the ships in the North Korean navy aren’t capable of going out into the ocean and traveling from one coast to the other. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-trumps-first-foreign-policy-crisis/773702/78 "2016-12-05T04:55:31Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > You’re right that the phone call illustrates bigger problems with Trump, but we and the world have to live with him for at least four years, so we may have to normalize his behavior to the extent that we will have to write off things he says as just things he says. When most Presidents speak, their words have great significance. That’s probably an idea that should have been discarded anyway, but for Trump especially we have to not interpret his statements as actual policy unless the White House issues a statement saying that policy has been changed. **Adaher** , you always seem so rational and level-headed to me, even when I disagree with you, but reading that last sentence… wow, my first thought is, “How did you enjoy that kool-ade?” Don’t succumb. Please. Don’t accommodate or lower your standards. We need your sensible conservative voice. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-trumps-first-foreign-policy-crisis/773702/79 "2016-12-05T05:07:49Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > You’re right that the phone call illustrates bigger problems with Trump, but we and the world have to live with him for at least four years, so we may have to normalize his behavior to the extent that we will have to write off things he says as just things he says. When most Presidents speak, their words have great significance. That’s probably an idea that should have been discarded anyway, but for Trump especially we have to not interpret his statements as actual policy unless the White House issues a statement saying that policy has been changed. He doesn’t have the White House yet. I do think that the First Foreign Policy Crisis will include Trump and a lot of his staffers falling for a fake news conspiracy theory that will make enemies and even allies react to what a misinformed administration is telling everybody that they are following ([Today it is mostly happening with American issues, but I can imagine the misunderstandings caused by fake news going global when Trump or his cabinet members fall for them](https://twitter.com/abbydphillip/status/805596565041778689/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)). Yes, I do think that even leaders that know that a lot of the nonsense that Trump will say that can be disregarded will still be led into very unpredictable reactions. ---
**Author:** ![AngelSoft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angelsoft/32/440_2.png) [@AngelSoft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelSoft)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-trumps-first-foreign-policy-crisis/773702/80 "2016-12-05T05:36:51Z")
Ok is this just one elaborate prank? Seriously I can’t…I can’t even…From Trump’s Twitter today via [CNN article](http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/04/politics/trump-china-tweets/index.html): > [@](#): > > Did China ask us if it was OK to devalue their currency (making it hard for our companies to compete), heavily tax our products going into…their country (the U.S. doesn’t tax them) or to build a massive military complex in the middle of the South China Sea? I don’t think so! Is he TRYING to piss China off?? I mean, at best we’re going to be the laughing stock of all the other countries. At worst, who the hell even knows… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-trumps-first-foreign-policy-crisis/773702.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-trumps-first-foreign-policy-crisis/773702.md?page=5)