A former U.S. ambassador to Panama has detailed a June 2017 meeting with then-President Donald Trump that he said ultimately led to his resignation. John Feeley, who was nominated to the Panama post by President Barack Obama in 2015, described the encounter in a recent appearance on The Guardian’s “Stateside” podcast.
According to Feeley, the first question Trump posed during their meeting was, “So you’re my ambassador in Panama. What do we get from Panama?” Feeley recounted his surprise, given Panama's limited military and a population of 4.5 million, contrasting it with the United States' economic and military strength.
Feeley stated that he responded by explaining what the U.S. derived from Panama, such as the economic benefit of shipping goods like iPhones and widescreen TVs from Asia to the East Coast via the Panama Canal. He recalled Trump’s reaction as “Huh, who knew?”
This exchange, Feeley said, contributed to his “unease about continuing to be his personal representative.” He characterized Trump as “fundamentally ignorant” and suggested that those advising him held superficial views of regions like Latin America, with a consistent focus on