Trump’s White Supremacist Foreign Policy
One of these men is trained in psy-ops. The other is a mark.
On Black Diplomats this week, host Terrell J. Starr is joined by two experts in world affairs to talk about President Trump’s foreign policies, and how he has tried to use the State Department to further his own interests. What does having a White Supremacist in Chief mean for American relations with the countries in Africa? They also discuss the advantages of diversity in the diplomatic corps from an insiders perspective, and what it’s going to take to repair the damage done by Tump’s shallow posturing.
Desiree Cormier Smith
Desiree Cormier Smith is the Senior Policy Advisor for Africa, Europe, and Eurasia for the Open Society Foundations. Previously, she was a Senior Director of the Africa practice at Albright Stonebridge Group, a strategic advisory firm. Prior to that, she was a Foreign Service Officer with assignments in Ethiopia, Mexico, South Africa, and Washington, DC.
She was named a 2020 Black American National Security and Foreign Policy Next Generation Leader by New America. Ms. Cormier serves on the Advisory Council of Global Kids, a non-profit aimed to inspire underserved youth to pursue careers in policy and global affairs, and on the Advisory Board of Shea Yeleen, a social enterprise dedicated to empowering women in West Africa and the U.S. She is a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Ms. Cormier earned a B.A. from Stanford University and a M.A. in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School.
Follow Desiree on Twitter to keep up with her.
Travis L. Adkins
Mr. Travis L. Adkins is a Lecturer of African and Security Studies at the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. As an international development leader, he has two decades of experience working in governance, civil society and refugee and migration affairs in over 50 nations throughout Africa and the Middle East. This includes serving as Staff Director of the House Subcommittee on Africa, working with leading international NGOs and think tanks, as well as within several branches of the United Nations system.
Travis is an alumnus of the International Affairs Fellowship at the Council on Foreign Relations, and a recipient of academic appointments from Carnegie Mellon and New York Universities. Mr. Adkins has served in numerous international election observation missions in Africa and the Middle East with the National Democratic Institute; is a contributor to Foreign Policy, The Grio, BBC and Al Jazeera on African affairs; and is the creator and host of the “On Africa” podcast, which engages diverse thought leaders in conversation on the continent's politics, history and culture.
Follow Travis on Twitter and listen to his podcast On Africa to find out more.