Australia’s ambassador to Washington is hardly alone in his past criticisms but Trump’s capacity to forgive seems reliant on twin tests of repentance and usefulness
Eight years ago, almost to the day, Japan’s then-prime minister Shinzo Abe flew to New York to become the first foreign leader to meet with US president-elect Donald Trump.
Inside the Obama White House, they were not amused. Barack Obama’s chief of staff, Denis McDonough, emailed the heads of foreign missions to convey the president’s displeasure at Abe’s move and remind them it was a breach of protocol for other nations’ leaders to meet with an incoming US president while another was still in office.
