Why Trump Thanked Putin for Kicking out Diplomatic Staff [View all]
It's simple, really. Trump does not like diplomacy, so by extension he mistrusts everyone at the State Department. That's evidenced by his failure to fill many, many senior-level positions in that Department. They are vacant, because he demanded resignations from all of the previous administration's appointees. He appears to believe that he knows best how to deal with the diverse collection of foreign governments he faces.
Trump doesn't trust people he doesn't know. Worse, he doesn't know all that many people he trusts. So, the State Department has lost so many people who have spent their careers studying specialized areas and particular nations. When a problem arises in those areas or nations, Trump has nobody to turn to for briefings that would allow him to make informed decisions.
That's fine with Trump. He's much more comfortable shooting from the hip and acting out of instinct. Sadly, his aim from the hip is very poor and his instincts are usually wrong. So, we get to watch him interact with the insane leader of North Korea from a position of little to no knowledge of that person's motivations, history or potential actions. The same is true of his interactions with the leadership of most nations, including our own allies.
This is what we face in DC right now. Trump has decimated the leadership of multiple departments and agencies, leaving them floundering and removing all of the people he should be talking to before acting. The results may be unpredictable and negative, since he's working from ignorance and instinct.
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