Trump Cabinet heavyweights set for Stanford
Defense Secretary James Mattis and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will be at Stanford University for two days next week meeting with top Australian leaders — and, most likely, being greeted by protesters.
The two Cabinet secretaries will host Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop and Defense Minister Marise Payne as part of this year’s Australia-U.S. Ministerial Consultations at Stanford’s Hoover Institution on Monday and Tuesday.
No public events are planned, according to university officials. Nevetheless, protesters led by the anti-President Trump group Indivisible will be there to make sure that their displeasure with Trump’s foreign policy is heard by those in charge of implementing it.
Indivisible demonstrators will also be protesting Sunday outside Pompeo’s visit to the
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Center for Public Affairs in Simi Valley (Ventura County), where he is scheduled to give a speech.
“The foreign policy being pursed by the Trump administration is a disaster on all fronts,” said Aram Fischer of San Francisco, who organizes with several Indivisible chapters in California. “The trade deals he is cutting are hurting the economy and alienating our allies. And his foreign policy with Russia is making our country less safe.”
Pompeo’s and Mattis’ visit may be as close as local antiTrump protesters get to making their feelings known to the administration at close range. Trump himself hasn’t visited Northern California as president.
Palo Alto and Stanford University police say they are prepared for the Cabinet members’ trip and for accompanying protests.
“We are aware the dignitaries are coming and we have a plan in place, but we are not going to reveal the details,” said Janine De la Vega, a spokeswoman for the Palo Alto Police Department.
The Cabinet members’ talks with their Australian counterparts will be an opportunity to patch up relations that have been troubled at times since Trump took office.
Shortly after his inauguration, Trump had a contentious phone call with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. A leaked transcript of the call confirmed that Trump said, “I have had it. I have been making these calls all day and this is the most unpleasant call all day. (Russian President Vladimir) Putin was a pleasant call. This is ridiculous.”
Turnbull was later disappointed that the U.S. pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a multi-nation trade agreement that was intended to counter China’s growing economic power. Trump called the deal, which included countries that represent 40 percent of the world’s economy, “a disaster” for the U.S.
However, Turnbull visited the White House in February and said, “Each of us has no better ally. We are mates.”
Trump agreed, saying, “There is no closer friendship.”