Mark Landler and David E. Sanger, in NYT:
The president-elect has shown little heed for the nuances of international diplomacy, holding a series of unscripted phone calls to foreign leaders that have roiled sensitive relationships with Britain, India and Pakistan. On Thursday, the White House urged Mr. Trump to use experts from the State Department to prepare him for these exchanges.
[…]
Newspapers in Taiwan reported last month that a Trump Organization representative had visited the country, expressing interest in perhaps developing a hotel project adjacent to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, which is undergoing a major expansion. The mayor of Taoyuan, Cheng Wen-tsan, was quoted as confirming that visit.
[…]
Lawmakers expressed alarm at the implications of Mr. Trump’s freewheeling approach.“What has happened in the last 48 hours is not a shift. These are major pivots in foreign policy w/out any plan. That’s how wars start,” Senator Christopher S. Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut, wrote on Twitter. “It’s probably time we get a Secretary of State nominee on board. Preferably w experience. Like, really really soon.”
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