U.N. pick thin on foreign policy

Trump’s U.N. pick thin on foreign policy, long on political connections

Kelly Craft faces a major test, despite her stint as ambassador to Canada.

By ALEXANDER PANETTA and LAUREN GARDNER

The woman President Donald Trump chose to represent America at the United Nations is a billionaire known for her bursting political Rolodex, disarmingly sunny disposition — and limited foreign policy experience.

Kelly Craft pulled off one unquestionable achievement in her stint as ambassador to Canada under Trump: She maintained good relations with Ottawa, even as her boss imposed tariffs and bashed Canada.

She attended NAFTA negotiating rounds in the private jet she used to shuttle back and forth between the countries and described her role as a bridge builder.

“Everybody’s emotions were running high,” Craft said in a recent interview, recalling the trade tensions of last year. “I put people together. I listen.”

At an Independence Day party Craft hosted last year at her Ottawa residence, some Canadians were so angry the president took the unprecedented step of imposing national-security tariffs that people boycotted the party. Those who did attend took home memories of the ambassador pouring tumblers of bourbon from her home state of Kentucky.

“People were having a lot of fun,” Ottawa lobbyist Greg MacEachern recalled. “She was really knowledgeable about the bourbon.”

Craft’s knowledge of other issues is about to be severely tested.

As nominee to be U.N. envoy, she’ll face much tougher pitching than the softballs usually served up at a confirmation hearing for ambassador to Canada.

The most memorable confirmation question put to her predecessor for the Canada job involved where Santa Claus lives. Craft’s hearing wasn’t much tougher, though she stumbled over a question from Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez, who is the ranking member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on whether she believed Russia tried to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, saying “that it looks as if yes,” but that she’d “have to investigate this further or learn more points on this.”

For the U.N. gig, she can expect Democratic inquisitors to drag her through a minefield of the world’s thorniest problems, from Iran to North Korea and Venezuela. But one lawmaker's vote she can count on is Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, whom she supported in 2016 before Trump and sits on the Foreign Relations Committee.

“She’d do a good job," Rubio said. "I know her well.”

While former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley’s foreign policy experience also was limited before she became U.N. ambassador, she impressed lawmakers from both parties by taking a tough stance on Russia, praising international alliances such as NATO and calling out human rights violations in countries such as the Philippines. She was confirmed by a 96-4 vote.

But before Craft can attempt to impress, she must be formally nominated. Trump tweeted his plan to name her to the post Friday evening, in the same manner he previously declared former State Department spokesperson and Fox News on-air personality Heather Nauert would get the nod. Nauert withdrew from consideration on Feb. 16.

One of her closest political allies, Republican Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin, said Craft will be just fine in the hot seat. If she can’t answer a question, the governor predicted, she will admit it.

“She’s somebody who knows what she knows and knows what she doesn’t know,” Bevin said in an interview Monday. “She’s going to be outstanding.”

At the U.N., Craft will be “speaking about things no one person on the planet knows everything about. It’s the dangerous people … who think they know everything, or think they’re required to give a response in the moment,” Bevin said.

He noted Craft already has gained the confidence of two world leaders — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Trump — and will win other admirers.

But Craft's current post could haunt her. A halting answer about climate change in an old television interview found new viral life following Trump's proposed nomination. She told a CBC News reporter in October 2017 there are “sciences … on both sides that are accurate.” Democrats are sure to press Craft, the wife of a billionaire coal company executive, on this, given that the global Paris climate pact Trump intends to withdraw from falls directly under the responsibility of the U.N.

“At a time when climate chaos is the greatest global challenge we face, it’s incredibly disturbing that President Trump has nominated a U.N. ambassador with deep personal ties to and a financial stake in the coal industry,” said Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), ranking member on the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Multilateral Institutions. "I have many questions for Ambassador Craft, and this nomination should receive deep scrutiny.”

Craft is a traditional pro-business Republican, someone not inclined to celebrate tariffs.

When asked about tariffs in an interview last week, she said, “I cannot go and speak on behalf of the president … But I trust the president’s decision. I trust the knowledge that he has.”

In the same interview, she described regulatory harmonization as one of her top two Canada-U.S. priorities. Asked for details, she said she would speak with Canada’s foreign minister and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to discuss how regulations would work better with the new NAFTA.

Would this ongoing regulatory harmonization effort become as ambitious as the European Union’s? “I can’t comment on that,” she said.

Craft won’t be able to phone a friend during the greatest test of her career — a Senate confirmation hearing — though she has plenty. They include the person who recommended her for the job, Sen. Mitch McConnell, a close ally of Craft and her husband Joe.

She also has quite a few allies in Canada. Craft got along with Trudeau and his team. In her first meeting with the prime minister in 2017, she brought along a big bottle of bourbon.

Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin, a senior Democratic member of the Foreign Relations Committee, told reporters Monday he looked forward to hearing from Craft about her views on the U.N. When asked whether he'd taken note of her performance thus far in Canada, he said he has “not noticed anything that stands out."

"That’s probably good for an ambassador," he added.

One Canadian official recalled her sending thoughtful notes to Trudeau following two national tragedies: a fatal bus crash involving a youth hockey team and a deadly van attack in Toronto.

Craft was in the middle of hosting Ottawa reporters for a goodwill-building happy hour in September at her residence when Trump laced into Canada at a press conference. Instead of hobnobbing with guests, Craft answered pointed questions about the president and defended Canada’s foreign minister after the president railed against her, saying Chrystia Freeland “hates America.”

Later the same evening, she joined a huge party at a downtown French brasserie and chatted amiably with Trudeau’s staff.

Several officials in both countries said she repeatedly worked to soothe hard feelings during the USMCA negotiations, which occasionally featured shouting sessions.

Canada’s ambassador to Washington, David MacNaughton, wouldn’t discuss private negotiations but offered one example of the role she played. He described a moment last fall when the Canadians couldn’t confirm a guest for a long-planned event at their Washington embassy.

Craft called Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, according to MacNaughton.

“Within 24 hours he confirmed his attendance,” he said. “She used to do stuff like that all the time ... She’s been a good friend to Canada and a good friend of mine ... I’m sorry to see her go.”

She does have her critics in Canada, however. There’s been chortling over the climate change interview and criticism about how much time she spent traveling outside the country where she was posted.

And now will come the inevitable debates about just what legacy is being left by a Kentucky veterinarian’s daughter who warmed a few hearts in the world’s coldest G-7 capital.

Despite her eternal cheer, her Oval Office connections and her personal aversion to tariffs, Canadian steel and aluminum are still getting clobbered by levies.

“You’ve just had the best-connected ambassador that Ottawa has ever seen,” said Sarah Goldfeder, a longtime State Department employee who worked at the embassy in Ottawa and still lives there following her departure from the agency. “But when you look at the policies of the Trump administration, I’m not sure Canada has benefited from those connections.”

Several officials in both countries say they are hopeful for a breakthrough soon on tariffs, while Craft's official post remains in Ottawa.