One Small Voice: President Trump has no clue about protocol

by Lynn Mandaville

The United States State Department plays a very important role in the ways America interacts and interrelates with other nations around the world.  One aspect of those interactions is the protocol by which America conducts itself. To that end, the Office of Protocol has been created.

According to the State Department web site, the first full-time protocol officer was appointed in 1916. The office of Protocol Chief was established in February of 1928. Then, in 1946, the President formally commissioned the Chief of Protocol and gave it the title of “Chief of Protocol of the White House.” Since 1961 this chief has been a commissioned Ambassador, requiring presidential nomination and Senate confirmation. One could conclude that this is a position of great importance and responsibility. A pretty big freaking deal.

Protocol is defined by the Department of State as a “body of law, customs and practices governing diplomatic conduct.”  Google calls it “the official procedure or system of rules governing affairs of state or diplomatic occasions.” Further, the Department defines the Office as seeking “to advance the foreign policy goals of the United States by creating an environment for successful diplomacy.” In other words, it is a code of conduct and set of instructions to be followed by our President and his or her representatives.

In an article by CNN contributor Kate Andersen Bower dated April 21, 2017, Bower tells us that those employed as chiefs of protocol are well versed in the customs and etiquette necessary for successful international relations. Specifically, Bower writes, “one of their jobs is to never allow the President or the first lady to be embarrassed.”

Bower cites in her article one such time when first lady Michelle Obama committed the unforgivable gaffe of placing her hand on the Queen of England’s back during a reception. This violated royal protocol that no one touches the Queen. In Mrs. Obama’s defense, Capricia Marshall, protocol chief during the Obama administration, had not yet been confirmed by the Senate. But such a mistake only serves to point out the importance of this office.

We have a new president now, and a new administration. Yet six months in, hundreds of White House jobs remain unfilled. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has expressed on more than one occasion his frustration that his department is grossly understaffed and that President Trump will not authorize him to fill these posts. Among those still vacant is the vital Chief of Protocol.

In light of the Trumps’ recent visit to France, I’m truly concerned about this situation.  You may have seen on TV — repeated again and again — our president greeting the first lady of France with his embarrassingly crude, objectifying remark about  her beautiful physical fitness.  You might also have been disturbed by the seemingly aggressive way in which Trump delivered the traditional European greeting of kissing both cheeks. Never have I ever seen a head of state grab another dignitary by both upper arms and pull her into close, physical proximity for the kisses.  The way Trump “greeted” Mrs. Macron made my skin crawl. At least one mainstream reporter suggested Mr. Macron should have decked him.

We all know that Donald Trump is a crude, boorish man who has little or no respect for women. Clearly, he hasn’t had the benefit of charm school. But he is precisely the person for whom the Office and Chief of Protocol exists. The post is there to guarantee that the president not embarrass himself as he did, or us, by association. This is not the only example of Trump’ transgressions. It is just the creepiest. Equally egregious is Trump’s manner of shaking hands with heads of state, by which he grasps too tightly and yanks the other person nearly off his feet.

None of these breaches of etiquette serves to endear Trump, or America, to other nations. And the fact that our own government officials don’t criticize Trump for lapses of protocol only magnifies this boorishness in their eyes.  

A good first step, in my opinion, would be for the Senate (or at least the Republican Party) to demand that this crucial post of Chief of Protocol be filled. A second would be for all of our elected officials demand that Trump learn and exercise proper diplomatic behavior and follow the formal dictates of the Chief.

We can’t change Trump’s disgusting, misogynistic tendencies, but we can insist he behave contrary to them.