Trump is trashing 'brand America'

DONALD Trump on Sunday asserted that he is sanguine about the possibility of war breaking out between nuclear-armed North Korea and its neighbours. In his latest undiplomatic pronouncement, the billionaire businessman commented "if they do, they do . . . Good luck". "Enjoy yourself folks."

Given Mr Trump's increasingly erratic foreign policy positioning, the fact that he remains a frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination is sending shockwaves around the world. And this is damaging the reputation of the United States (so-called "Brand America") internationally.

Mr Trump's most recent comments have alarmed multiple US allies in Asia, and follow on from his assertions last week that Washington should withdraw US troops from South Korea and Japan and allow those countries - and potentially others, including Saudi Arabia - to develop nuclear arsenals. While these ideas enjoy some support in the US and internationally too, it flies in the face of US foreign policy over decades which has largely been focused on preventing nuclear weapon proliferation. So significant was the level of diplomatic concern in Japan, both the prime minister and foreign minister…