hiobsbotschaft

As if to illustrate how foreign policy is superfluous in the face of the almighty mob that can be rallied with the megaphone that is social media (so who needs a State Department or Diplomatic Corps), Dear Leader found his particular style of statecraft under threat by the juxtaposition of a calm and collected German chancellor, meeting for the first time for a joint press-conference. Though there was some discussion of the United States not forgetting its immigrant origins (Angela Merkel did not deign to point out that Dear Leader’s own grandparents first immigrated to America and Canada as economic refugees, fleeing from poverty and then a second time as fugitives from the authorities), the talk at these usually highly scripted and choreographed affairs was decidedly icy and one-sided with Dear Leader dominating the direction.  At least she had her defenses up.
Per his usual modus operandi, Dear Leader belittled the role of NATO and accused Germany and all other member states of making far too little contributions to the alliance and forcing the US to finance the enterprise, bookending the matter with platitudes that claimed he was not an isolationist. This tact took up most of the allotted time and what remained of the awkward exchange was devoted to the serious but groundless accusations that Dear Leader whilst campaigning was wire-tapped by the out-going administration—and that was at least common-ground between himself and the Chancellor. Merkel failed to see the humour in that remark—since, if it wasn’t in jest, it amounts to an admission that US intelligence services did indeed eavesdrop on foreign allies and probably all the other surveillance that no one dared confirm or deny. The other implication being—if Dear Leader really were being bugged, it would be because he or Fearless Leader were in communication with the foreign powers that they disavowed all along. Reporters’ questions were turned back on them, suggesting that they should be interviewing the sources of the story—a news outlet, which never reported anysuch story.