As Donald Trump set off on Friday for a 12-day tour of Hawaii and Asia, I spoke with Monocle 24’s The Briefing about the motives and prospects for the trip.
Looking beyond Trump’s hope for a PR boost amid domestic problems such as the Trump-Russia investigation and the failure to pass major legislation, I offer the summary that US officials are just hoping that nothing goes disastrously wrong — from an encounter with protesters as Trump looks for military glory in Hawaii, to a provocative statement over the North Korean crisis during stays in Japan and South Korea, to a misstep as he is flattered by Chinese leaders.
Listen from 6:07: