"When it comes to who is ultimately to blame for lowering the global tone, many point the finger less at the Kremlin and more at Mr Trump"
The president's confrontational Twitter feed has long appalled many Americans, who say it demeans the dignity of the White House
Do you agree? 🇺🇸
Even during wartime, nations traditionally conduct their business in polite, statesmanlike language. In casting such conventions aside, Donald Trump has re-written the concept of diplomacy
Within months of being sworn in, Trump branded Kim Jong-un a short, fat "Rocket Man." Kim replied that his "nuclear button" could be used to strike the US
Some detected method in Mr Trump's madness. The argument went, that a tyrant like Kim was much more likely to heed someone who sounded as unhinged as he did.
The following year, America and North Korea held their first-ever meetings together
Today, it is no longer just POTUS who issues provocative one-line rants that spark international incidents. China and Russia are adopting a much more aggressive tone too
China's current ambassador to Sweden, Gui Congyou, told Swedish radio, "We treat our friends with fine wine, but for our enemies we have shotguns"
In March, Zhao Lijian, who until last year was China's envoy to Pakistan, tweeted to his 300,000 followers that coronavirus could have been started in China by the US military
The Russian embassy in the United Arab Emirates also used Twitter to mock Nato's claims of a Russian invasion of Ukraine by showing a picture of some toy tanks
"Much diplomatic protocol, like summits and communiques, was designed in 1815 for an age of monarchies and great states; and too often diplomats speak in meaningless platitudes," says Tom Fletcher, Britain's former ambassador to Lebanon
"Now that Mr Trump has changed the rules of the global conversation, maintaining a polite silence is no longer an option" - @colinfreeman99
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
🦠 On Sunday night, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex spoke with Malala Yousafzai about the impact coronavirus was having on young women's burgeoning careers.
📢 In typical Meghan form, her message went beyond that.
🔴 Labour has said little about what its alternative lockdown policy would be so far, but Sir Keir Starmer and his shadow cabinet are understood to be unhappy with the new "three-tier" system.
"Grafenwöhr is really two towns. There is the German town, with its cobbled market square and its 15th century town hall. And there is the American town where the Hallowe’en decorations are already in place"
More than 30,000 Americans live in Grafenwöhr
Grafenwöhr is part of the largest American military base outside of the US
It is littered with pick-up trucks and is home to a street named Elvis Presley Strasse