Paul Hare on Trump’s “Truth Social Diplomacy” – Boston University
Paul Webster Hare, Master Lecturer at the Pardee School and former British ambassador to Cuba, was recently interviewed by the German magazine, Focus, for a feature on Donald Trump’s White House and its distinctive communication style.
With more than three decades of diplomatic experience, including postings in Cuba and China and teaching at Harvard, Hare reflects what the article describes as “a veteran of the old world of diplomacy.” In the interview, he draws a sharp contrast between traditional statecraft and Trump’s media-driven approach, recalling how figures such as Henry Kissinger and Richard Holbrooke were “true dealmakers” who treated negotiations as an art form, not merely “a kind of ‘reality show.’”
Hare argues that Trump’s use of Truth Social—an alt-tech social media platform operating as a “free speech” alternative, primarily catering to conservative, pro-Trump users—encapsulates what he sees as a fundamentally different vision of presidential leadership. He describes the platform as “the perfect symbol of Trump’s ideal vision of a presidency: Trump as a superhero at the center of attention, every word a thunderclap that shakes the world.” This stands in stark contrast, he notes, to leaders like Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, who “communicate little, and when they do, every sentence seems carefully chosen with strategic calculation.” For Hare, this difference is not stylistic but consequential: where restraint can enhance leverage, Trump’s “unbridled, unfiltered direct diplomacy” risks diminishing both presidential authority and U.S. credibility on the global stage.
He went on to criticize the substance and consistency of Trump’s messaging. According to Hare, much of what appears on Truth Social about foreign policy is “false, contradictory, or an outright lie,” citing shifting ultimatums toward Iran as one example. He also highlights how Trump’s posts reveal personal instincts and reactions, offering “glimpses into his inner life” that adversaries and allies alike could exploit.
At the same time, Hare suggests that the platform blurs governance with personal business promotion, noting how Trump can pivot from threatening to “unleash hell on Iran” to advertising branded products. Taken together, Hare argues, this approach undermines the effectiveness of what he has elsewhere termed “Truth Social public diplomacy,” limiting its ability to produce meaningful diplomatic outcomes.
The full article can be read here in German.
Paul Webster Hare is a master lecturer at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies. He served as British Ambassador to Cuba from 2001 to 2004 and also represented the U.K. to the European Union in Brussels, New York, Portugal, and Venezuela as deputy head of mission. Hare has extensively written about Cuba for renowned news outlets including The Financial Times, The Atlantic, Newsweek, and The Huffington Post. He is also the co-editor of the Palgrave Handbook of Diplomatic Reform and Innovation, which analyzes current practices of diplomacy and proposes practical solutions to improve diplomatic outcomes.
Posted 9 hours ago in In the Media
Tagged: Amb. Paul Webster Hare, diplomacy, leadership, President Donald Trump, Social Media, Truth Social, United States
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