Amanpour: ‘The World Sees U.S. Foreign Policy as Withdrawing from Its Traditional Global Leadership Role’

EXCERPT:

AMANPOUR: “On the substance of it, I think we have to be very clear. Yes, it’s true that North Korea two years ago was a who knows what’s going to happen next situation, the rhetoric and the nuclear tests and the intercontinental ballistic missile tests were very, very dangerous. President Trump contributed to that danger by throwing back invective. He now says that was a negotiating tactic, and it’s true that the tone has gotten much, much better. Absolutely no question. Before the summit, of course, Kim Jong-un had stopped with his nuclear tests and his intercontinental ballistic missile tests and up until now, we have nothing concrete from the North Koreans, nada, nothing, nothing, nothing. Yes, the tone has changed. On Iran, Nikki Haley said look at the change in Iran’s behavior. Absolutely no change whatsoever in Iran’s behavior other than the United States has pitted itself against its allies and other signatories to the Iran deal. No change in Iran’s behavior in Syria, in the Middle East, elsewhere. President again saying that taxpayer money was spent by President Obama to get hostages back from Iran. Not the case. It was Iranian frozen assets that were spent to get them back. So there’s all these kinds of things. Making a huge deal about China and the sort of tariffs and trade wars. On the very week that the IMF director has said that this trade war with China threatens over the next year or two American economic growth and global economic growth. So look, you know, they are putting the best foot forward. Basically the rest of the world sees U.S. foreign policy as withdrawing from its traditional global leadership role and being now in a state of wanting to win rather than wanting to lead. So the United States is no longer a leader of alliances for the greater, you know, for the greater geostrategic agenda but it wants to win by scoring points, which is what the president's been doing, and which is -- and which is what they talked about in the Oval Office today."