On Thursday, press reports came out that the president had allegedly called an array of nations “shithole countries.” The nations that he targeted include El Salvador, Haiti, and some African countries, and the president has unsurprisingly attracted an array of negative attention because of these reported comments, including from interests as high ranking as the United Nations.
Concurrent to this news, which has prompted widespread international condemnation, one of America’s officials, comprising the face that we present to foreign countries, has now announced his resignation. U.S. Ambassador to Panama John Feeley will be leaving his present position on March 9.
Ironically, however, Feeley apparently decided to resign before the reports about Trump calling certain nations “shithole countries.”
Trump has denied that he used the language in question, but considering the lying and racism that defines his past, it’s not as though his denial is credible.
The immediately available information about Feeley’s departure does not indicate a specific action taken by President Trump that sent Feeley over the edge, so to speak, and prompted the career diplomat’s decision to resign. However, it’s worth noting that his actions are not unique, with resignations from various positions within the State Department having pockmarked the year or so that the Trump administration has been in power.
Unsurprisingly, the former oil exec tapped by Trump to lead the department has proven to be an ineffective at best leader.
In an excerpt from his resignation letter made available to Reuters, Feeley stated:
‘As a junior foreign service officer, I signed an oath to serve faithfully the president and his administration in an apolitical fashion, even when I might not agree with certain policies. My instructors made clear that if I believed I could not do that, I would be honor bound to resign. That time has come.’
A spokesperson for the State Department confirmed to Reuters that Feeley’s last day on the job would come in about two months’ time, saying that he “has informed the White House, the Department of State, and the Government of Panama of his decision to retire for personal reasons, as of March 9 of this year.”
Panama’s president visited the White House back in June of last year, as one stop on the ridiculously winding road that is the Trump administration’s approach to foreign policy.
Although there is no apparent immediately specific reason for Feeley’s departure, the president has conducted himself in a volatile way when it comes to foreign policy, to put it lightly. He has defined his approach to foreign policy by his endless stream of incendiary tweets, routinely treating calls for war as if they are as serious as a dinner invitation.
Recently, North Korean representatives met with South Koreans in a momentous and rare occasion, and although the president has taken credit for the meeting, there’s a good reason for it that has nothing to do with him — the next Olympics are to be held in South Korea so the geographical proximity no doubt helped prompt the South Koreans to extend the olive branch that they always have at the ready.
Featured Image via Raymond Boyd/Getty Images
