We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. And that is very, very strange. President Barack Obama appointed Huntsman, a Republican, to serve as ambassador to China in his first term because Huntsman speaks Mandarin and had lived in Taiwan.
Nor does Huntsman make sense as a Trump pick on a personal or political level. Ambassador to Russia is an absolutely critical position for the Trump White House, given the host of never-ending Russia scandals engulfing the administration. Huntsman does not fit that mold, to say the least. But even then, Huntsman appears to have said very little on Russian affairs. A Lexis-Nexis search of all major news sources between and November found scant comments of substance on Russia from Huntsman.
When Huntsman ran for the Republican primary nomination, he had similarly little to say on Russia. A review of every primary debate Huntsman participated in turned up zero comments on the US-Russian relationship. The most substantive comment was a two-paragraph statement on his old campaign website.
Working with Russia to develop a more cooperative relationship is needed, but we should not make that relationship one that mirrors a Potemkin village in which we pretend the Kremlin is more of a partner than it is, more of a democracy than it is, more respectful of human rights than it is, and less threatening to its neighbors than it is.
When we do that, as President Obama has done, we are undercutting those in Russia who see a democratic future for their country. We communicate tolerance for its hegemonic policies including toward Georgia which it still occupies and Ukraine.
We undercut our criticism of despots elsewhere in the world. And is Jon Huntsman fluent in Chinese? For my part, I have no problem acknowledging that he is.
He can clearly communicate with people and understand what people are saying to him — maybe not about nanotechnology, but certainly about what time dinner is, or when the Embassy ball begins. And unlike the vast majority of American political leaders, he displays an engagement with another language and culture, and significant experience living and working in a Chinese speaking environment.
At the very least, I think it would be fair to say that his learning of Chinese and interactions with Chinese culture give him a window on the world that many American politicians simply do not have, and for that I think we should be appreciative. Unsupported Browser Detected. November 2nd, About the Author.
Subscribe to get the week's top stories from The DP and beyond, meticulously curated for parents and alumni, delivered directly to your inbox. Jon Huntsman Jr. Wednesday evening, students gathered in a Huntsman Hall auditorium for a discussion with College graduate Jon Huntsman, Jr. He added that his daughter, College graduate Abby Huntsman, used this approach to access the internet when she visited him in Beijing. John Huntsman Jr. John Huntsman, Jr. Huntsman is the son of Wharton graduate Jon Huntsman, Sr.
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