Donald Trump drops three diplomatic clangers over Qatar in one outburst

Donald Trump drops three diplomatic clangers over Qatar in one outburst

President Trump has once again complicated the Qatar crisis.

The small but rich Gulf kingdom may be home to the biggest US military base in the Middle East.

But that has not stopped Donald Trump mocking its name and accusing it again of funding terrorism in comments made to Republican fundraisers.

Press were barred from the event but his comments were secretly recorded at the $35,000 a head jamboree at Trump's own hotel in Washington.

Image: Trump International hotel

"We're having a dispute with Qatar - we're supposed to say Qatar," he said mockingly pronouncing the country's name in two different ways.


"It's Qatar, they prefer. I prefer that they don't fund terrorism."

Three diplomatic clangers in one outburst.

Firstly US presidents have in the past avoided ridiculing countries where 10,000 US military personnel are based.

Secondly American diplomats are working furiously behind the scenes to broker a resolution that threatens to rip apart the Gulf Cooperation Council and undermine prosperity and stability in this part of the Middle East.

They say the US is an honest neutral broker. Donald Trump apparently thinks America is having a dispute with Qatar.

And thirdly in his comments he is once again taking the side of Qatar's rivals, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE and Bahrain. The quartet has isolated Qatar diplomatically and economically accusing it of funding and supporting terrorism.

Image: Rex Tillerson said to be exhausted from clearing up after Mr Trump's blunders

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is reportedly 'exhausted' from the job of clearing up after every diplomatic faux pas committed by his boss almost daily.

He was thought to be furious the last time Trump sabotaged US diplomatic efforts to resolve the Qatar crisis by accusing it of funding terrorism 'at a very high level' in one of his outspoken Twitter outbursts.

Tillerson reportedly blamed that on the influence of UAE ambassador to the US Yousuf al Otaiba on Donald Trump's young son in law, Jared Kushner.

Image: Jared Kushner is not only family, he's also the US President's senior aid

A source close to Tillerson reportedly said the Secretary of State 'concluded that this absolutely vacuous kid was running a second foreign policy out of the White House family quarters'.

There has been concern voiced within the administration at the influence being wielded by Otaiba on the Trump administration's Middle East policy.

We await the response of Tillerson and other older members of the Trump administration to their boss's latest bout of ham-fisted diplomacy.