Chris Uhlmann, the political editor at the government-funded Australian Broadcasting Corporation, is now a 'celebrity' worldwide after his anti-Trump tirade live on Aussie TV went viral on Twitter.
As The Hill reports, his blistering critique began by calling Trump an “uneasy, lonely, awkward figure” who had “no desire and no capacity to lead the world” in a two-minute report from the streets of Hamburg after the summit wrapped up.
What did we learn about @realDonaldTrump at this #G20? @CUhlmann explains. #Insiders pic.twitter.com/TGOXdiFWhB
— Insiders ABC (@InsidersABC) July 8, 2017
Uhlmann went on to say...
"Donald Trump has pressed fast forward on the decline of the United States as a global leader."
"Some will cheer the decline of America, but I think we’ll miss it when it’s gone - and that’s the biggest threat to the values of the West, which he claims to hold so dear."
He specifically criticized Trump for the president's opposition to the Paris climate deal - saying the U.S. “was left isolated and friendless” - and for not leading a statement condemning North Korea’s recent missile test.
But not everyone agreed with Uhlmann, as Australia's Herald Sun reminds readers...Sounds plausible, if you forget who Trump replaced.
Didn't Russia and China grow strong by filling the vacuum that was Barack Obama?
Didn't Syria collapse and North Korea develop its nuclear bombs as Obama quit the field and surrender to multilateralism?
Uhlmann wants Trump to not be an outsider at G20. But what was the issue on which he was most isolated?
It was on global warming - the Paris agreement. But check what that agreement did. It committed the US to cut its emissions while letting China and Russia increase their own. In other words, it was designed to weaken the US and strengthen China and Russia.
Isn't the truth that it was Obama who weakened US influence, and it is now Trump who is asserting it?
Criticism from Merkel and Macron is not evidence of US decline. It is evidence that the US is now more focussed on the interests of the US, and not that of Germany and France.
Uhlmann is known in Australia for being a right-wing commentator, according to Philly.com. His commentary racked up attention on social media, turning heads among Australians and Americans.