By Vishwamithra –

“When a diplomat says yes it’s yes; when a diplomat says maybe, it’s no; if a diplomats says no, he’s no diplomat. When a lady says no, it’s no; if a lady says maybe, it’s yes; if a lady says yes, she’s no lady.” ~ Unknown author

If the face of America is a combination of Donald Trump and Elon Musk, and if it continues for another four years consecutively, America’s international image would suffer irrevocably and any comeback would take another couple of terms of Presidency, if not two or three decades. Global diplomacy is certainly not played out in the open. For instance, the Vietnam Peace talks that were initiated and continued for more than one year between Henry Kissinger, American Secretary of State under Richard Nixon’s Presidency and Lê Dức Thọ of North Vietnam, took shape and form behind closed doors, far removed, secluded and remote from the inquisitive eyes and eras of the global media community. Neither Kissinger nor Tho pursued a media platform to augment their respective egos. The end result they sought was much larger and groundbreaking than their temporary and shortsighted self-glorification.     

However, the advent of the second term of Donald Trump has modified that global diplomacy equation radically and dangerously. Resolution of defining global issues and its surrounding political contexts seem to be fast approaching the brink of a new paradigm. Two comedians, one a professional, comedian who turned politician, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and the other, a real joker-comedian of sorts, Donald Trump, gave irreversible impetus to this new dynamic, whereby the decent mechanism of negotiation for middle ground in any given issue is being destroyed beyond all recognition. Instead of the pros and cons of a given proposition, the settlement of which is sought after by the involved parties and the deal-making middleman, the very despicable conduct on the part of the middleman, United states of America and her leader, has now become the issue that is being discussed, dissected and analyzed by the international punditry and political leaders.

This dreaded collapse of class- a product of breed that teaches us etiquette, decorum and calmness of wisdom, and finesse and refined nuances of international diplomacy – might cause many more lives,, both Ukrainian and Russian, in the future. Nikita Khrushchev, the First Secretary of the then Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) came before the General Assembly of the United Nations and addressed with all his mite, vigor and condemned the USA and her allies in October, 1960. But that was a mere address or a protest-pronunciation of a policy position of the USSR. Khrushchev was not conducting negotiation of positions of two warring parties. US President Trump and Vice president Vance were in the midst of deal-making, in his own words by VP Vance. What an unworthy fashion of diplomacy; what a spill of accepted norms of international standards, what a collapse of class!

Zelenskyy is entrenched in a brutal war with Putin’s Russia. Russia is the aggressor; Ukraine is the victim, a very unfortunate and helpless one at that. Arguing for or against the position each party has taken is not the intention of my writing. Most international issues are neither wholly black nor purely white. More often than not, the truth dwells in the middle. A peace cannot be be achieved nor negotiated successfully without an exit strategy for either party. However, when in war, one also cannot accept a ceasefire on the terms declared and demanded by the original aggressor, in this case Russia and its leader Vladimir Putin.

Putin’s Russia is totally different from the Russia that was ruled by Lenin, Stalin, Khrushchev and Gorbachev. The USSR that was once the leader and Messiah of the Third World and the USSR-backed satellite nations such as Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania and East Germany in the now defunct Warsaw Treaty countries is dead and gone. While the Marxist economic policies and guidelines have failed miserably, the current East European nations have embraced socio-democratic governing policies  and quasi-capitalist economic principles altogether. The rushing modern technology has passed by the then anachronistic Socialism and Marxism. Polarization of the global community along ethnic and religious contours has made the world not only interconnected as it was never before, it has also made the world smaller and very touchable on a day-to-day basis via Internet, Email, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and other social media platforms.

Donald Trump made use of all these social media platforms to propagate his political message so intensely and craftily; he, in fact, was the undeclared ‘King’ of the social media world. During the circus of media conference Donald Trump conducted with his guest Zelenskyy last week, Trump indicated that he liked what was being exchanged between American President and Ukraine President. The spectacle that was being played as a live television drama was indeed spectacular as a television drama. It was made for the TV anchors and their editorial gurus.

But taken in the context of assessing each country’s governing position, each country’s political leanings and leadership qualities, it was an unmitigated disaster. Zelenskyy, a victim whose sad and grief-ridden position was enunciated in a not-so-eloquent fashion, his lack of richness in the English language came to his actual rescue. When Vance said that Zelenskyy was disrespectful towards Trump and America, that statement in itself was a an acknowledgment of failure on the part America. The sympathy was immediately transferred to Zelenskyy and Trump’s not-so-rich diction was also exposed, making his crude and unprofessional conduct utterly unbecoming of a Leader of the ‘Free World’.

Trump’s world is different. Its sociocultural parameters do not demand finesse. It does not require diplomatic tactfulness. Donald Trump does not know subtlety and polish. His actions and his thought process do not advance along delicate language and a repertoire of nuanced phenomena. His universe is either black or white. He may not sincerely believe that himself, but articulations and leadership characteristics  cascade from cloistered and dark corners. Absolutely absorbed in his own narcissistic measurements, for him every dialogue and conversation he exchanges with his fellowmen, friend or foe, is literally a transaction; a quid pro quo methodology is the basis for any and all matters that is set on his Resolute Desk at the Oval Office in the White House. If any matter expands beyond the borders of his narrow, cushy and comfort zone, he stoops down to his obscene and pathetic harangue that is usually the fodder for political imbeciles and simpletons.

In the midst of Trump’s politically  deranged universe reside some of the Republicans whose academic credentials are worthy of instant recognition and acceptance. The real tragedy is that those academically rich individuals who have been elected as members of Congress, have chosen to be active in the same dark arena and play a slavish game of boot-licking and drooling for very selfish ends. Hitler’s immediate Cabinet also had very bright and IQ-rich men. But they were dwarfs in the presence of the Fuhrer.

Power is an absolute corrupter. Its magic cannot be resisted; when one begins tasting real power, one forgets its source, its illusory dimensions and its nasty byproducts. All that matters is what power brings to the holder; the luxuries and comforts, both mundane and super-mundane, the cocktail parties and other exploits of lust and avarice envelope the very concept power and the concept becomes real and untouchable. The only preoccupation for the power-holder is its perpetuation, flowing him or her to a magical vicinity which is not anywhere near the mere mortals. They literally walk on water and the cloudy skies become very near and achievable provided he can prolong his stay in the exalted cushions of power.

This power has begun its most destructive voyage and its stormy and turbulent waves have caught every such mortal who has been privileged with the switch to turn it on and turn it off. But America’s strength is not in Presidency; it’s not in its seemingly lasting democracy; nor is it in her people. It is in combination of the three pillars upon which the very machinery is founded: the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary. The very architecture of governance, its design, its foundation and its expanding branches have all held this great experiment together despite many attempts by many a misdirected and unworthy President who has emerged every now and then.

Donald Trumps is such an unworthy Chief Executive. His Vice President is a very articulate but deceptive hypocrite. His Chief Advisor thinks that the world is turning around him and his family. But that design, that architecture of governance would look after itself. Its lasting power is immense and yet incalculable. January Sixth (January 6^th) might repeat itself; yet such ill-thought out insurrections will fail again. However much the Executive thinks that nationally ultra serious matters are referred to the Supreme Court, any deviation from the accepted norms of governance would be rejected by the court. That much faith and that much confidence I have, not in the men and women who sit on that Bench, but in the institutions of the Supreme Courts and the Legislature as a whole.

What happened on February 28, 2025 might happen again; its repetition would not be as serious as it was on February 28. People change; but a change of conduct on the part of Donald Trump is not going to happen. His outlook on politics in general and international relations in particular might not be the key factor ultimately. Ground conditions and other crises that might emerge thereafter may dictate the terms and conditions of  future confrontations between another international leader and Donald Trump. Trump may have altered the trajectory of American Foreign Policy for the time being. But eventually, the ground situations shall dictate the global agenda. Yet, frequent failure on the part diplomatic conduct of America is not an option.

*The writer can be reached at vishwamithra1984@gmail.com