U.S. Diplomats Say ‘Contain the Damage’ Has Become Their Job Description Under Trump

  • President has undercut team on Iran, Huawei and Afghanistan
  • Trump surprised his own negotiator in meeting with Kim Jong Un

Donald Trump greets people on the South Lawn of the White House in September.

Photographer: Sarah Silbiger/Bloomberg
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Donald Trump’s criticism of his Ukraine envoy, deployment of Rudy Giuliani to dig up dirt on a rival and a move to suspend crucial military aid left U.S. diplomats normally in charge of carrying out American foreign policy forced to contain the damage left in the president’s wake.

It’s a situation to which they are accustomed.