Why Trump chickened out of going to Peru

Why Trump chickened out of going to Peru

https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/10/opinions/trump-chickened-out-summit-americas-opinion-wierson/


By Arick Wierson

Updated 5:37 AM ET, Wed April 11, 2018


(CNN)On Tuesday, the White House announced that President Donald Trump was canceling his trip to Lima, Peru, for a regional summit with other heads of Latin American and Caribbean countries. His sudden cancellation and decision to send Vice President Mike Pence in his place will drive an even bigger wedge between the United States and its regional allies.

Officially, the White House is pointing to the chemical attacks in Syria as the reason why Trump needs to stay in Washington......................

The reality is that the FBI's raid on Michael Cohen's office has deeply rattled the President, and that may well be why he has opted to stay close to his family, friends and allies as this crisis unravels.

But Trump's excuse -- or his statement Tuesday afternoon that he "would have loved to have gone" -- isn't fooling anyone. He never wanted to attend the Summit of the Americas. "Given President Trump's disdain for the region, its people, and its institutions, combined with his total lack of interest in Latin America, except as his own personal piñata, one can only consider the Lima summit dead on arrival," Jerry Haar, Professor of Management & International Business at Florida International University, told me.

Unlike some of his previous travels where Trump was treated as royalty -- remember his extravagant trip to Saudi Arabia last year? -- his trip to Peru was going to resemble an uncomfortably large Thanksgiving dinner in which he would assume the role of the slightly off-kilter uncle who everyone was hoping wouldn't show up.


Since the mid-1990s, the Summit of the Americas has been an opportunity for leaders from Canada to Argentina to profess their collective love and admiration for democratic ideals, regional trade, security, and other areas of mutual interest and cooperation.
But Trump has not expressed such love and admiration for his regional allies. He is alleged to have referred to Haiti and El Salvador (as well as Africa) as "shitholes." And he has repeatedly singled out Mexico and many Central American immigrants who pass through its borders as the cause of a host of problems for the United States...........................................



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