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US Ambassador to the United Nations speaks during an interview with Fox News on Dec. 6. Haley’s remarks about the possibility of US athletes not participating in the Olympics due to the North Korean nuclear crisis have caused controversy in South Korea. (taken from Fox News screenshot)
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The controversy showed the administration’s contempt for allies and poor response to handling problems
After the US government under President Donald Trump spent a day wavering about whether Team USA would attend the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, sending several contradictory messages, it finally reconfirmed its plan for the team to attend the games. This appears to show that the Trump administration is not very sensitive to the current challenges facing US allies and that it is strikingly bad at dealing with problems when they arise. The controversy began when US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said during an interview with Fox News on Dec. 6 that American athletes’ participation at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics was an “open question.” “I have not heard anything about that,” Haley said. “It’s about how do we protect the US citizens in the area.” Haley’s point was that North Korea’s launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) had raised concerns about the safety of American athletes. During the press briefing on Dec. 7, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that the “open question” remark “wasn't exactly what the ambassador said. No official decision has been made on that…That will be a decision made closer to time… I think, ultimately, the President would certainly weigh in,” Sanders said, creating even more confusion. Amid signs that Sanders’ remarks during the briefing would escalate the controversy, she tweeted afterward on Dec. 18 that “The US looks forward to participating in the Winter Olympics in South Korea.” “We are confident that the government’s commitment to hosting a safe and successful winter games will take place. We support their efforts in that,” said US State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert during the department press briefing. Nauert responded to a follow-up question about whether the US would attend by saying, “We look forward to being a part of the Olympics… in the Republic of Korea.” Despite the controversy over whether the US will be attending the Pyeongchang Olympics, Trump reportedly already gave South Korean President Moon Jae-in personal assurances that his family would be present at the Olympics. That has been taken as a signal that Trump is confident that the Olympics will be safe. A senior official from the Blue House recently told reporters that Trump told Moon during his state visit to South Korea on Nov. 7 and 8 that he might not be able to attend the Olympics himself, but that he would send his family. That could mean that Trump indicated his son-in-law Jared Kushner, a senior advisor at the White House, or his eldest daughter Ivanka would visit South Korea. During a phone call with Moon on Nov. 30, Trump also promised to send a high-level delegation to South Korea. At the time, Moon told Trump he was grateful for the US’s decision to send the delegation to Pyeongchang, and Trump suggested that Moon personally tell the International Olympic Committee about the US’ decision. Joseph Yoon, the State Department’s special representative for North Korea Policy confirmed during a Dec. 7 event in Washington, D.C. sponsored by the Korea Foundation that Trump again stated that he would send a high level US government delegation to the Pyeongchang Olympics in a phone call with President Moon a few days ago. By Yi Yong-in, Washington correspondent and Seong Yeon-cheol, staff reporter Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]
