Was It So Wrong For President-Elect Donald Trump To Take A ‘Congratulatory Call’ From Taiwan Leader Tsai Ing-wen?

On Friday evening, President-elect Donald Trump received a call from the President of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen. Was it so wrong for him to take a congratulatory call from the Taiwan leader? While some say yes, Fox News does not think so. In fact, they believe that it proves our President-elect is off to a good start.

The media was quick to judge Donald Trump when he ran for President, again when he was elected as President, and now when he is acting as President. According to Slate, it was a “mistake” for Trump to speak with the Taiwan President.

Bonnie Glaser, a senior adviser for Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told reporters her feelings about the “mistake.”

“My guess is that Trump himself doesn’t have [a] clue. That he had no idea about Beijing’s neuralgia on Taiwan.”

Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy tweeted that Trump is going to start a war with his “major pivots in foreign policy.”

(1) Foreign policy consistency is a means, not an end. It's not sacred. Thus, it's Trump's right to shift policy, alliances, strategy.

— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) December 2, 2016

(2) What has happened in the last 48 hours is not a shift. These are major pivots in foreign policy w/out any plan. That's how wars start.

— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) December 2, 2016

Fox News, on the other hand, has a different outlook on Donald Trump’s phone call to the President of Taiwan, and here’s why.

When Trump received the congratulatory call from Tsai Ing-wen, they touched base very briefly on political and economic ties that the two democracies have ties to. President-elect Donald Trump congratulated the Taiwan leader for her Presidential win that occurred earlier in the year, which marked a historical event in Taiwan. Tsai Ing-wen was the first ever woman President in Asia who did not have a father or a husband previously in a leadership role.

Let’s just say that Beijing does not like that Tsai Ing-wen has proved that democracy can work for any Chinese person, regardless of where they reside.

But what is everyone’s problem with Trump accepting a phone call from the President of Taiwan? Apparently, Trump was “upending 37 years of U.S. diplomatic practice in a few minutes,” according to the Guardian.

Dick Cheney’s former White House Aide, Stephen Yates,, thereforewho is now a part of Trump’s transition team, thought the opposite.

“It’s great to have a leader willing to ignore those who say he cannot take a simple call from another democratically elected leader.”

Firstly, the Guardian accused President-elect Donald Trump, without any proof, of provoking Beijing and using the phone call with the President of Taiwan as a way of advancing his personal interests. However, Fox News states the fact that Trump will not become our President until January 20, therefore the phone call was not necessarily a change in broader policy, but a simple decision to express common courtesy and accept a congratulatory call from Tsai Ing-wen.

Secondly, Fox News thinks that the uproar about our President-elect taking a courtesy call from the President of Taiwan shows just how ridiculous the policy between the United States and China has become.

“If a little courtesy to a democratic friend and a little truth about Taiwan could really threaten peace in the Pacific, as the experts contend, then we need to reevaluate our defense and come up with something better.”

Donald Trump pledged that he would change our country and “Make America Great Again.” Perhaps this is what he is going to do, and maybe this is proof that he is actually going to do it. He apparently has already upended “37 years of U.S. diplomatic practice in a few minutes,” thus showing that he is going to make significant changes.

Throughout his Presidential campaign, Trump has made it loud and clear that he was open to speaking with foreign policy leaders who want to have good ties and relationships with the United States. There is absolutely nothing wrong with our President-elect taking a congratulatory call and briefing on a few things before becoming our President, who will be dealing with foreign policy beginning January 20 anyhow.

[Featured Image by Evan Vucci, Chiang Ying-ying/AP Images]