Zakaria on Trump’s Call with Taiwan: ‘Not a Bad Idea’

EXCERPT:

ZAKARIA: "Well, I think it could signal that Trump is searching for leverage with China, which is not a bad thing. I think the key here is that it should be part of a thought-through strategy where they have figured out here are the things we want from China, here are the points of leverage we're going to use. In that context, making some overtures to Taiwan is not a bad idea. It's just with the way in which it was done and the fact that, for example, no allies of ours seem to have been informed of it, whether it's the Japanese or the South Koreans. The kind of Twitter-based diplomacy, if you will. That's the part that I think is not just throwing some of us in the United States off but many people around the world. You know, people look to American foreign policy as a kind of bedrock of international order, so they want to see it strategic, carefully planned. But the substance of it -- I think people are getting overly critical. The truth of the matter is we need leverage with China. China is a country that cooperates with the United States on many issues, but on many issues we need to be able to push them harder."