Vox: Trump paused a call with Putin to make an aide explain a nuclear arms treaty. By Suzanne Cordeiro and Dimitar Dilkoff (AFP).

“Three things stick out about this report, presuming it’s accurate[…]. The first is that Trump still clearly does not know basic facts about American foreign policy, like the name of a major treaty — and that this somehow leaked to the press from one of his top advisers, the only people in the room for the Putin call.

The second is that the president seems willing to make major policy changes anyway. Trump had referenced New START in an October presidential debate, though he called it “start up“ and incorrectly suggested that it limited American nuclear warhead construction without similarly capping Russia’s. (The deal actually caps each country’s number of deployed nuclear warheads at 1,550.)
[…]
Finally, the comments seem to contradict stuff Trump has said recently about nuclear weapons. Just days before his inauguration, Trump said in an interview that he hoped to work with Russian strongman Vladimir Putin to reduce both countries’ nuclear arsenals.”

Also:

“In August, MSNBC host Joe Scarborough recounted a story an unnamed foreign policy expert told him about Trump and nukes. In it, Trump expresses confusion as to why the US doesn’t use its nukes.

“Several months ago, a foreign policy expert on the international level went to advise Donald Trump. And three times [Trump] asked about the use of nuclear weapons. Three times he asked at one point if we had them why can’t we use them,” Scarborough said.”

This makes me very afraid.

New York Times: Trump and Staff Rethink Tactics After Stumbles. By Glenn Thrush and Maggie Haberman. (The former headline read “After 2 Weeks, Trump’s Bungles Have Aides Rethinking Strategy”.)

“Aides confer in the dark because they cannot figure out how to operate the light switches in the cabinet room. Visitors conclude their meetings and then wander around, testing doorknobs until finding one that leads to an exit. In a darkened, mostly empty West Wing, Mr. Trump’s provocative chief strategist, Stephen K. Bannon, finishes another 16-hour day planning new lines of attack.

Usually around 6:30 p.m., or sometimes later, Mr. Trump retires upstairs to the residence to recharge, vent and intermittently use Twitter. With his wife, Melania, and young son, Barron, staying in New York, he is almost always by himself, sometimes in the protective presence of his imposing longtime aide and former security chief, Keith Schiller. When Mr. Trump is not watching television in his bathrobe or on his phone reaching out to old campaign hands and advisers, he will sometimes set off to explore the unfamiliar surroundings of his new home.”

Link via MetaFiter: The Trump Roundup.

Independent: Angela Merkel is now the leader of the free world, not Donald Trump. “The US President isn’t motivated by protecting liberal democracy or freedom, his sole ideology is Trumpism: corporate autocracy with a populist facade. And he surrounds himself with white nationalists even more hostile to liberal democracy than he is.” By Sunny Hundal.

“But the ban on immigrants highlighted something far more draconian. If a President can abruptly restrict the rights of US residents without bothering with lawmakers or even government departments, he in effect an autocrat. That is exactly what Trump did and will continue to do so. His actions don’t just undermine the rights of all Americans, they undermine the institutions that support American democracy.
[…]
But Trump […] is ripping up international agreements so he can bully smaller countries into submission. That sets a dangerous precedent for the entire world.

And lastly there is the Trump administration’s hostility towards the media. Regardless of its bias, a thriving democracy needs a media willing to challenge the government. Trump isn’t just hostile to criticism, in his warped world it must be driven by lies and vindictiveness. He is wracked by deep insecurity. When his chief aide Steve Bannon says the media should “keep its mouth shut“ – they mean it. They don’t want a free media criticising them at all. These are words that dictators use, not democrats.
[…]
Having grown up in communist East Germany before re-unification, Angela Merkel is the polar opposite. She doesn’t just recognise the sounds of autocracy, she chose to escape it.

This is why she has stood up to Trump’s bullying and bigotry, saying on Monday that the “necessary battle against terrorism“ did not justify putting “groups of certain people under general suspicion“ . The British government in sharp contrast has been slavish and spineless.

It’s now abundantly clear that the free world needs a new leader. With respect to Justin Trudeau, Canada simply isn’t powerful enough. It has to be Angela Merkel.”