Vice President Mike Pence has reiterated to his European counterparts that America is committed to the European Union but, according to an exclusive report from Reuters, Trump's chief strategist and former Breitbart honcho Steve Bannon has been delivering his own messages.
In the week before U.S. Vice President Mike Pence visited Brussels and pledged America's "steadfast and enduring" commitment to the European Union, White House chief strategist Steve Bannon met with a German diplomat and delivered a different message, according to people familiar with the talks.
Bannon, these people said, signaled to Germany's ambassador to Washington that he viewed the EU as a flawed construct and favoured conducting relations with Europe on a bilateral basis.
Three people who were briefed on the meeting spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.
You may have noticed that national security and foreign policy experts are beginning to say that we 'have no foreign policy,' and this is exactly why. There's no clarity or direction. No one knows who really speaks for the White House or America.
I suspect it's not possible for one person to speak for the White House because Trump himself is an empty vessel and there are competing factions within his administration who cannot agree on consistent policy.
It has been strongly implied abroad that no one should pay attention to Trump because he just says shit, but the rest of Trump's team isn't advancing a single, united message either. The result is that our allies may have little choice but to go their own direction and largely ignore the Trump regime and its various incoherent messengers.
It feels like our international standing is already lower than the lowest point of the Bush administration.