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Trump so 'erratic' that world leaders cannot trust his words: Analyst

Monday, 13 February 2017 3:41 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 13 February 2017 3:44 PM ]

Trump’s handshake with Abe was against Japanese traditions

US President Donald Trump is “so erratic in his statements” that world leaders cannot trust any of his assurances, says an American investigative journalist in Washington says.

Wayne Madsen, an author and columnist specializing in intelligence and international affairs, was commenting on Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to the United States this weekend, during which Trump assured his guest that Washington was “100 percent” behind Japan in the face of any threat from North Korea.

“Trump says anything in the joint news conference or sole news conference, it has to be taken with a grain of salt because Donald Trump is so erratic in his statements,” Madsen said in an interview.

“And of course he’s going to say he backs Japan a 100 percent until he meets the Chinese president and then he will probably say I back him 100 percent, and then of course the issue is who backs more who over the issue of disputed islands between China and Japan,” he stated.

“I don’t think any world leader should really pay attention to the statements of Donald Trump because Donald Trump would change his mind within a few minutes,” he noted.

Madsen also said that Trump’s rather exuberant handshake with the Japanese leader was against Japanese social traditions.

During their meeting at the White House on Friday, Trump would not let go of Abe’s hand, yanking him back several times, which caused the prime minister to show his discomfort.

Trump, seemingly indifferent to the rather dispirited reaction of Abe, tweeted later, “I shook hands, but I grabbed him and hugged him because that’s the way we feel. We have a very, very good bond — very, very good chemistry.”

Last month, Trump had taken issue with the US trade deficit with Japan, in addition to threatening to impose a tariff on Toyota, a Japanese car maker.

But during Abe’s visit to the US this weekend, Trump did not discuss any of those issues. After their Washington meeting, the two leaders rather issued a joint statement to reaffirm their “unshakable alliance.”

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