Canceling a trip to Denmark may be a distraction tactic, according to the New York Times‘ Maggie Haberman.
On the morning after Trump abruptly announced he was postponing a meeting with Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in two weeks because of her refusal to entertain his interest in buying Greenland, the White House correspondent told CNN she does not know Trump’s true motive. But she offered a few ideas, including that the president simply did not want to make the trip.
“The president was already getting disinterested in this trip before the Wall Street Journal broke that story about him having conversations about purchasing Greenland. He has been talking about the idea of seeing if they could acquire Greenland for many, many, many months. This was not something that came up recently,” she said.
She said Trump’s staff “mocking him” for the idea of purchasing Greenland “sets the tone.”
Haberman also said the timing of canceling the visit, which was set for early September, is suggestive.
“There’s also been a change of leadership in Denmark since this trip was initially discussed. But look, regardless of why it is he doesn’t want to do it, the way that he did this is hugely disrespectful to a NATO ally. This is not how you handle diplomatic relations,” she said. “You don’t do it by tweet after there have been weeks and weeks of preparations. You don’t do it necessarily the same day that you have suggested Russia should be admitted into the G-7. And I don’t think that’s unrelated.”
Trump renewed his call for Russia to be readmitted into the Group of Seven on Tuesday, saying it would be an “appropriate” move. Russia was kicked out in 2014 after it annexed Crimea.
Haberman said she thinks Trump might even be distracting from multiple issues, sticking to a 2016 campaign strategy by “throwing out so many pieces of chum that he’s hoping nothing in particular sticks.”
Haberman said Trump’s tweets about American Jews who favor Democrats being disloyal was another diversion.
“He could be distracting from any number of things,” she said, adding that it may also just be an “easy way out” from a trip he did not want to do.
