CNN OP ED: Donald Trump has left the world stage. Few will miss him

[lindysalsagal]

https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/22/world/trump-g20-riyadh-robertson-analysis-intl/index.html

Donald Trump has left the world stage. Few will miss him by Nic Robertson Updated 11:34 AM ET, Sun November 22, 2020

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (CNN)

As stage exits go Donald Trump's departure was something of a whimper, the US President leaving the top table of global G20 leaders to play golf.

Trump has been out of kilter with the global mood since he first took office preaching his "America first, fair, not free trade" brand of nationalist isolationist hubris.

Now, as his time in office draws to a close, despite his refusal to publicly accept the reality of the US election results, the combined unspoken message from the world's leaders is: don't let the door hit you on the way out.

The virtual summit for leaders of the world's richest nations is being hosted by Saudi Arabia. Its stated aim is to pull countries together to combat Covid-19, accelerate testing, treatment and vaccines for all, while helping poor nations cope with the pandemic's economic impact.

Evidence of the shifting attitude toward the outgoing US administration came from the lips of Saudi's Minister of Investment, Khalid al-Falih. "When the world needed leadership [to combat Covid-19] there was none," he said. The G20 had stepped up because some nations "turned inwards towards nationalism." Al-Falih didn't mention Trump by name. He didn't need to; his audience understood.

[Sneederbunk]

1. And to think we believed Nixon was an aberration.