European Diplomats Consider Trump a 'Laughing Stock': Report
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – European diplomats hold a less-than-flattering view of US President Donald Trump, a report said.
Top-ranking European officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told BuzzFeed that their chief concerns were Trump's unpredictable Twitter use and his erratic behavior.
Among other things, they also described the president as "something of a laughing stock" at international gatherings.
As one official described it, diplomats consider his vocabulary to be limited to so few words and phrases that they play a type of "word bingo" whenever he speaks.
"Everything is 'great'; 'very, very great', 'amazing'," one diplomat said.
Trump's distinctive speaking style has been widely imitated, most notably by actor Alec Baldwin, who often parodies the president on NBC's "Saturday Night Live."
While mimicking Trump, Baldwin often incorporates words the president favors into his routines, like "tremendous," "amazing," and "incredible."
The diplomats' views of Trump reflect the opinions of European citizens, 79% of whom said in a Pew Research Center poll released in June that they have "no confidence" in the new US president.
European diplomats also said that they think Trump's foreign policy doctrine is driven primarily "an obsession" with undoing former President Barack Obama's initiatives.
"It's his only real position," one official said. "He will ask, 'Did Obama approve this?' And if the answer is affirmative, he will say: 'We don't.'"
The official added, "He won't even want to listen to the arguments or have a debate. He is obsessed with Obama."
Trump frequently attacked Obama even before he ran for president, but his criticisms of his predecessor significantly ramped up during the 2016 election, when Obama supported Trump's opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Though Trump briefly paid Obama respect when the two met during the transition period, he quickly reverted back to criticizing the former president after taking office, taking aim at key cornerstones of Obama's legacy like the Affordable Care Act and the landmark Paris climate agreement.
Trump has also levied personal attacks on Obama, most notably in March, when he accused Obama of ordering the wiretap of phones in Trump Tower, a claim experts immediately dismissed.
