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> and most of his actions involving China have been inconsistent and self-serving. I think what we're seeing is a president who is at odds with the intelligenc

> and most of his actions involving China have been inconsistent and self-serving. I think what we're seeing is a president who is at odds with the intelligence and diplomatic communities. It's truly testing the ideas of who's actually in charge. The president assumes since he was elected and runs the executive branch that he has the final say on what will be done, and will go "off-script" in direct communications with other leaders to forward his agenda. The diplomats/intelligence have long-established precedents and procedures and want everyone, including the president, to not rock their boat. When they are unable to work together, you will see these inconsistent decisions being made.

jimbokun 7y ago
Every US President has had the final say on what will be done, within the laws established by Congress. Including this President. The problem is this President does not take into account the knowledge and capabilities of his intelligence and diplomatic communities, leading to stupid and naive decisions because the other heads of state are better informed and are better negotiators than him. The intelligence and diplomatic communities are resources at his disposal he often chooses to ignore, so his screw ups are squarely his own with no one else to blame.