Australian political editor and reporter Chris Uhlmann had strong words for President Donald Trump following the G20 summit. In a segment on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Uhlmann, who describes himself politically as a centrist, shared his frank thoughts on the American president. He describing Trump as an "uneasy, lonely, awkward figure" with "no desire or capacity to lead the world," in a video that has been shared thousands of times on Twitter alone.
With each share and retweet, people annotaed the video the quotes that resonated with them the most, including Uhlmann's characterisation of Trump, notation of Trump's contradictory behaviour, or Uhlmann's opinion of the possible negative ramifications of Trump's actions surrounding the G20 summit.
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People can’t stop watching this Australian journalist’s brutal takedown of Trump’s foreign policy pic.twitter.com/dE3RjMi7Qk
— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) July 9, 2017
The segment was quickly picked up by numerous news outlets.
One of the recurring themes throughout Uhlmann's analysis is the contradiction between what Donald Trump says and what he does. The President spoke in Poland about the dangers facing the preservation of the West, a talking point the Australian reporter found particularly conflicts with Trump's attacks on Western institutions which Uhlmann lists as, "the judiciary, independent government agencies, and the free press." He concluded with what he believed would be the consequences of Donald Trump's actions.
"Donald Trump has pressed fast-forward on the decline of the United States as a global leader." https://t.co/YaKnId04Pz
— Sean Keeley (@SeanKeeleyIsMe) July 9, 2017
Uhlmann on Trump: "A man who barks out bile in 140 characters." https://t.co/oyfR941n4A
— Kumi Taguchi | 田口久実 (@kumitaguchi) July 9, 2017
that he has "no desire and no capacity to lead the world" & aims to profiteer from sowing destruction #nailedit https://t.co/C4EP3y6i7h
— barb dybwad (@doctorparadox) July 9, 2017
Australian media not messing about with “he looked Presidential” https://t.co/EzzUTxOPjd
— Peter J. Cavan (@PJCavan) July 9, 2017
Hands down the best explanation yet of the perception of Trump at the #G20. https://t.co/zJYA3zIDdM
— Susan McPherson (@susanmcp1) July 9, 2017
Acute summary.
— Thomas Ferrell (@trferrll) July 9, 2017
Harsh—very—but fair. https://t.co/UGFxkcpwCm
Many on Twitter believed that while Uhlmann's words were "harsh," that they represented what a lot of people around the world are thinking of the current president and his policies. One commentator called Uhlmann's words "the best explanation yet of the perception of Trump at the #G20." Others praised the Australian outlet for not succumbing to descriptors such as "he looked presidential."
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