Amsterdam, Netherlands (CNN) Not a day goes by in the Netherlands without President Donald Trump making news. If you're an American traveling overseas, you have likely been buttonholed by locals asking you to explain what is going on with the new administration. The local news carries clips of Trump attacking the media, disparaging NATO or falsely suggesting a terrorist attack just occurred in Sweden. At the same time, top Cabinet officials are making the rounds in Europe, appearing to contradict the President on the most basic matters of foreign policy. This is precisely the type of situation into which the US Department of State -- America's foreign ministry -- would normally step in and allay confusion, make sense of the mixed signals and explain to the world precisely where the United States stands.Frida Ghitis: Trump and his Cabinet contradict each other, and State Department is mumShe says never has there been a greater need for translator of US policies to the world
Under normal circumstances, America's center of diplomatic activity -- the State Department -- would do its traditional job, attempting to portray US government policies as a coherent whole, consistent with US values and laws, committed to upholding the country's obligations, determined to maintain _'s role in the world. After all, his goals for the country and the world are a sharp departure from _'s traditional role as an advocate of democracy, human rights, freedom and open markets.