PrintNikki Haley had a party for the US's friends
As promised, U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley held a reception not only for those nations who stood with the U.S. on a U.N. vote condemning the U.S. on its decision to announce the reality that Jerusalem is Israel's capital, but also including those who abstained or were absent. As the CNN reporters noted:
[U.N.] receptions generally include invitations for most, if not all, nations. However, depending on the issue, smaller receptions and dinner parties certainly can be held.
But receptions held by a powerful [U.N.] member[-]country that publicly highlight the absence of dozens of other countries are extremely rare.
Ambassadors walking into the reception were diplomatic about the "Friends of the [U.S.]" title for the evening to which many members were not invited.
As Haley explained in a tweet:
It's easy for friends to be with you in the good times, but it's the friends who are with you during the challenging times that will never be forgotten. Thank you to the 64.
The U.S.'s non-friends are also being remembered. President Donald J. Trump (R) announced:
The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!
It's not only Pakistan that we pay billions of dollars to for nothing, but also many other countries, and others. As an example, we pay the Palestinians HUNDRED OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS a year and get no appreciation or respect. They don't even want to negotiate a long overdue...
...peace treaty with Israel. We have taken Jerusalem, the toughest part of the negotiation, off the table, but Israel, for that, would have had to pay more. But with the Palestinians no longer willing to talk peace, why should we make any of these massive future payments to them?
But...but...if we don't bribe...um, graciously donate extortion money...um, again...gifts, our non-friends will get angry. Really angry.
"The real risk on that Trump-Pakistan debate is [that] it exacerbates the situation because you know they are going ballistic about this," said Scott Lucas, a professor of American studies at the U.K.'s University of Birmingham.
U.S. criticism of Pakistan is nothing new, but Lucas said there did not appear to be a clear, underlying strategy behind Trump's messages.
"It's going to complicate our relationship with them for a while," he said.
Mushahid H. Syed, the chairman of Pakistan's Senate Defense Committee, said Trump was trying to "bully, blame[,] and browbeat" his country.
Oh, dear.
Party on, friends. More goodies to come!
America is back. MAGA!
