Inauguration Is Upon Us: The Weekend Behind, the Week Ahead
It's a big week as Washington (and the world) prepares for Trump's inauguration.
This week marks U.S. President Barack Obama’s last few days as commander in chief. It also marks President-elect Donald Trump’s first week occupying the most powerful position in the country; he is sworn in as president on Friday.
This week marks U.S. President Barack Obama’s last few days as commander in chief. It also marks President-elect Donald Trump’s first week occupying the most powerful position in the country; he is sworn in as president on Friday.
Though it is still days away, trouble is swirling around Trump’s inauguration events. Broadway singer Jennifer Holliday pulled out of performing at an inauguration event Thursday evening, apologizing to her LGBTQ fans for her “lapse of judgment” Civil rights icon and Georgia Congressman John Lewis said he would not attend the inauguration of a president he did not consider “legitimate.” After Trump blasted him on Twitter, other Democratic representatives followed suit. And three times as many bus permits were requested for the Women’s March on Washington to protest Trump’s inauguration than for the actual inauguration.
Nevertheless, Trump expects something sizable.
Someone who will probably not be having much fun this week: Monica Crowley, Trump’s initial pick to lead National Security Council communications. Crowley will not be working for the administration after all, as accusations have emerged that she plagiarized her dissertation for her Columbia University PhD as well as passages from her 2012 book, What the (Bleep) Just Happened (the answer to which is apparently, “you plagiarized a lot!”).
Others who are in for a rough week include European Union and NATO member states. On Sunday, a Trump interview published in the Times of London revealed the president-elect thinks the EU is “basically a vehicle for Germany” and that NATO is “basically obsolete.” European leaders are apparently worried about what this will mean for America’s policy toward Europe and the trans-Atlantic. Trump also mentioned that he would like to make a trade deal with the United Kingdom.
But on Monday, as German Chancellor Angela Merkel remarked, “we Europeans have our destiny in our own hands.” Frederica Mogherini, High Representative for the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said that Britain cannot negotiate a separate trade deal with the United States until it has exited the European Union. That could take awhile, although how long will depend on in part on the Brexit objectives British Prime Minister Theresa May intends to set out on Tuesday.
More pleased with Trump’s comments than Merkel or Mogherini? The Kremlin, of course! Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Monday, “NATO is indeed a vestige [of the past] and we agree with that.”
He likely also agrees with Serbia, or at least Serbia as understood by Kosovo. On Monday, Kosovo’s president said he believes Serbia wants to annex northern Kosovo using the “Crimea model.” This, two days after Kosovo prevented a train emblazoned with the words “Kosovo is Serbia” from crossing its border — and months ahead of Serbia’s next presidential elections, slated to take place in what may well be a very different international order.
Photo credit: Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Emily Tamkin is a global affairs journalist and the author of The Influence of Soros and Bad Jews. Twitter: @emilyctamkin
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