FOREIGN POLICY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/UN: “The Trump administration’s diplomatic darts this week flew as fast at friends as they did at foes. First, on Monday [4-22-19], came the end of permissions for important partner nations to buy Iranian oil without fear of American sanctions. Then, on Tuesday [4-23-19], American officials wrestled with allies over a United Nations measure on combating rape during wartime. And on Friday [4-26-19], President Trump announced he was ‘taking our signature back’ from a global treaty on conventional arms sales that went into effect in 2014. All of that, along with a shift last week on Cuba policy that angered European leaders, has reinforced the notion that the United States is becoming a rogue superpower as it continues to embrace unpredictable ‘me first’ actions, with little care about upending the traditional world order.”
–Edward Wong, “As Trump Angers Allies, Rival Powers Cultivate Diplomatic Ties,” The New York Times online, April 26, 2019