As President Donald Trump confirmed on Friday that he will nominate State Department spokeswoman and former Fox News anchor Heather Nauert as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, critics argued that while the president's decision to select someone with zero diplomatic experience to represent the U.S. before the international community is "appalling," the belligerent foreign policy and contempt for human rights that Nauert will be in charge of selling is immeasurably more dangerous.
"The U.S. is breaking treaties, cutting foreign aid, imposing unilateral sanctions, threatening other countries, expanding the arms race, and gravely endangering the global environment. Global peace itself is being put at risk."
—Jeffrey Sachs, Columbia University
"Appointing a Fox News talking head to represent our country at the United Nations is completely in character [for Trump]," argued Brian Dixon, senior vice president for media and government relations for the Population Connection Action Fund. "Nauert brings no experience, no understanding and, frankly, no interest in learning. Her main claim to this role is her willingness to defend the indefensible as a spokesperson."
Nauert's nomination comes as the Trump administration is ratcheting up tensions with Iran, defending Saudi Arabia's brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and its continued assault on Yemen, and contributing to the climate crisis by withdrawing from the Paris accord and propagandizing on behalf of the fossil fuel industry.
In an email to Common Dreams, Columbia University professor Jeffrey Sachs argued that it is these broad and dangerous developments—not the appointment of Nauert or any other individual—that should be the deepest cause for alarm among advocates for peace and global cooperation.
"The worrying aspect of the U.S. is not a particular appointment but the aggressive, unilateralist foreign policy of the Trump administration," Sachs said. "The U.S. is breaking treaties, cutting foreign aid, imposing unilateral sanctions, engaging in beggar-thy-neighbor trade protectionism, threatening other countries, expanding the arms race, and gravely endangering the global environment. Global peace itself is being put at risk."
If confirmed by the Senate, Nauert will take the place of Nikki Haley, the current warmongering U.N. ambassador who announced in October that she is resigning from her post at the end of the year.
As The Jerusalem Post noted, Haley was a staunch and unequivocal defender of Israel's brutal occupation of Palestinian territory and America's broader interventionist and imperial foreign policy. Nauert is expected to bring more of the same.
"In her briefings, when asked about controversial Israeli policies or decisions, she almost always defers to the Israeli government," the Post noted.
According to CNN, Trump ultimately favored Nauert over other candidates because of her unwavering willingness to defend him and effectively peddle the White House's aggressive line on television.
"She's excellent," Trump said of Nauert on Thursday. "She's been with us a long time. She's been a supporter for a long time."
