Quincy News: Trump reportedly tries to call world leaders at odd hours and constantly has to be reminded of different time zones

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Schmoozing on the phone
A Jonathan Ernst/Reuters image
– News from elsewhere covered by Quincy Quarry News with commentary added.

President Donald Trump has to be reminded of differences in time zones on a “constant basis” as he impulsively attempts to call other world leaders, a diplomatic source told Politico in an article published Monday.

It’s what time in Toyko?
A John Ernest/Reuters image
According to a former National Security Council official who spoke to Politico, Trump “wasn’t great with recognizing” that an older world leader might not be awake or in the right place at 10:30 or 11 p.m. their time (for undertaking a secured line call, ed.).”

A White House official said Trump is well aware of how time zones work, especially as someone who has for years worked in international business, but is often too busy to be concerned with such details.

Vlad, you know why I can’t call …
A wire file photo
“He’s the president of the United States. He’s not stopping to add up” time differences, the official told Politico.

“I don’t think anybody would expect him or Obama or Bush or Clinton or anybody to do that.”

“That’s the whole reason you have a staff to say ‘yes, we’ll set it up,’ and then they find a time that makes most sense.”

Macron and Trump holding hands
A John Ernest/Reuters image
The president also “randomly” calls other world leaders without specific topics to discuss, leaving them confused as to why he reached out, a former national-security official told Politico, adding that Trump has a particularly “bizarre” interest in French President Emmanuel Macron.

Trump “wanted to talk to him constantly,” the official said, adding that “Macron would be like: ‘Hey, what are we talking about?'”

“Tell them that I am in a meeting”
A file photo
The official added: “These are very busy people. You don’t just call to check in.”

A White House official told the publication that Macron had requested most of the calls with Trump.

Past presidents were also known to call their global counterparts at awkward hours, but Trump has reportedly consistently done so without fully preparing for their conversations and thus often exhausting and annoying foreign aides and diplomats in the process.

Nipple, button – whatever
An Alex Brandon/AP image
Even when Trump does prepare for meetings or conversations with other foreign leaders, there’s apparently quite a learning curve.

For example, President Trump referred to Nepal as “nipple” and Bhutan as “button” as aides prepped him for a meeting with India’s prime minister, Politico reported, citing two sources with knowledge of the meeting.

Besties at the 2018 Olympics in Seoul
An AFP/Getty Images image
The White House defended Trump and said he had “good rapports” with other world leaders.

“The president has developed strong relationships and good rapports that are not only friendly, but also allow for candid conversations with many of America’s closest allies,” the White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, told Politico.

Besties out bare for a horseback ride
A Facebook meme
Sanders said that Trump has “even worked the phone with our competitors” and that “foreign leaders appreciate that the president is willing to take their calls day and night.”

Since Trump’s earliest days in the White House, there have been numerous reports of his struggles to follow diplomatic protocol and his apparent propensity for awkward exchanges with foreign leaders.

Some of the more embarrassing conversations that have been made public present Trump as an unpolished, brash leader and something which CNN reports inspired the White House’s recent decision to stop releasing public summaries of Trump’s conversations with world leaders.