Trump’s private phone calls with foreign leaders worry former diplomats: ‘dangerous territory’

Donald Trumpcalls with World leaders worry foreign policy experts after president’s election and his team blanked the State Department to participate.

Trump reportedly spoke to Russian president Vladimir Putin on November 7, with The Washington Post reporting that the president-elect urged Putin not to escalate hostilities by Ukraine and reminded the Russian leader of the American military presence on the European continent.

But the Kremlin has denied that this call ever took place. Under more normal circumstances, the State Department would have been able to document and prove that the call took place, as this typically allows calls to be orchestrated with foreign leaders.

Thus, conversations between Trump and foreign leaders have not taken place over secure telephone lines, no State Department personnel are present to guide the president-elect on foreign policy issues, and there are no no official interpreters to clear up possible misunderstandings. .

Brett Bruen, a former diplomat and Obama White House staffer, said The United States today: “We’re entering dangerous telephone game territory, where Trump is going to have private conversations with foreign leaders, and they’re going to tell their teams one thing, and Trump is going to tell our national security team another.”

Bruen noted that different views on what happened on a call can trigger an international crisis.

The government was unable to provide briefings, security clearances and resources to the Trump team for weeks because it had not signed the legal documents required to officially begin the transition of power.

The Trump team revealed Tuesday that it had signed one of the required documents, meaning it now has access to government information not available to the public, can now receive briefings and send people into the departments she is about to contact. take charge.

Trump, who for years has spoken derisively about what he calls “the deep state,” has often shared his suspicions that the civil service is working to thwart its goals. He has pledged to fire civil service staff and install loyalists during his second term.

Some of President Joe Biden’s phone calls with foreign leaders in 2020 were conducted without help from the State Department, with Trump refusing to acknowledge his loss, former diplomat Daniel Fried said. The United States Today.

Shortly after announcing his election victory earlier this month, Trump began receiving calls from foreign leaders, such as the British prime minister. Keir StarmerUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Trump said two days after the election that he had spoken with more than 70 foreign leaders.

While most calls with foreign leaders primarily include congratulations and promises of future cooperation, some of the calls received by the president-elect appear to relate to politics.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, wrote on X on November 10 that he had spoken to Trump three times after the election.

“We agree on the Iranian threat in all its aspects and the dangers it reflects,” he wrote. “We also see the great opportunities that lie ahead for Israel, in the area of ​​peace and its expansion, and in other areas. »

Under federal law, it is a crime for an unauthorized U.S. citizen to negotiate a conflict with another state, putting Trump’s comments to Putin under scrutiny.

“There can only be one foreign policy at a time,” Bruen said. The United States today. “What Trump is doing is saying we have to do X or Y, even though he hasn’t been sworn in, even though he doesn’t control American foreign policy at the moment.”

He added: “Most of our adversaries are able to access these calls, which in itself is concerning because it means the Russians are spying on the calls he makes with Europe and the Middle East, and that the Chinese have access to the same calls. those.

“These are sensitive discussions. They allow country leaders to understand where there may be potential compromises or vulnerabilities,” Bruen argued.