Commentary editor Noah Rothman said President-elect Donald Trump’s recent phone call with Taiwan’s president — and its diplomatic fallout — is a sign of an incoming administration that is “winging it” more than some Republicans want to admit.
“There’s a difference between strategic ambiguity and just outright winging it, and I think we’re seeing a lot more winging it than people want to admit,” Rothman told CNN’s “Party People” podcast hosts Kevin Madden in a recent conversation about the future of conservatism.
Trump spoke with Taiwan’s president over the phone earlier this month, a breach of diplomatic protocol that led China to lodge a complaint with the White House. The call prompted critics, supporters and foreign policy experts alike to question whether the move was a deliberate shift in policy or it was an unplanned foreign policy gaffe, a controversy the President-elect refused to settle or clarify.
Rothman said that for an incoming president to appear like he’s “winging it” is considered a bad thing — for good reason — but in a way it’s part of how the electorate that backed Trump was pushing for change.
“Everybody is very loath to admit that what we’re seeing is improvisation on the fly because that sounds unprofessional and amateurish — and it is,” the former Hot Air contributor said. “But that’s sort of what the public voted for. They really voted for someone who is completely untethered to the old way of doing things.”
Rothman also said he never at any point expected Trump to win in part because of his New York City background where the real estate mogul was known for being in the tabloids.
“He was a fixture on the tabloids and in Page Six and that’s about as seriously as I ever took him. I guess that was to my detriment,” he said.
“Don’t forget. He bought the New Jersey Generals and then he had the sports page, too,” Madden added.
“I purposefully blocked that out,” Rothman responded.
To hear how Rothman went from studying theater to international relations, as well as what he thinks Republicans in Congress should do under Trump, listen to CNN’s “Party People” podcast, a new podcast from CNN where a pair of conservative CNN contributors talk to influential voices about the future of conservative politics and the Republican party.
Get CNN’s “Party People” podcast at CNN, Stitcher, TuneInRadio or iTunes.
