---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A number of foreign policy experts…"
description: "\"A number of foreign policy experts distanced themselves from Donald Trump, not Michael Flynn.\" — Lawrence O'Donnell"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/136/lawrence-o-donnell-1701_experts_a-number-of-foreign-policy-experts-dista_2412245.jpg"
---

#  A number of foreign policy experts distanced themselves…

![“A number of foreign policy experts distanced themselves from Donald Trump, not Michael Flynn.” quote by Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/136/lawrence-o-donnell-1701_experts_a-number-of-foreign-policy-experts-dista_2412245.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/136/lawrence-o-donnell-1701_experts_a-number-of-foreign-policy-experts-dista_2412245.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/136/lawrence-o-donnell-1701_experts_a-number-of-foreign-policy-experts-dista_2412245.jpg)

> “A number of foreign policy experts distanced themselves from Donald Trump, not Michael Flynn.”

[Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Foreign policy experts publicly rejected Trump while still supporting Michael Flynn, highlighting selective criticism.

**In simple terms:** Experts chose to criticize Trump but not Flynn.

Key Takeaway

Recognize selective bias in political discourse.

Themes

politics credibility selective criticism

Mood

critical skeptical

Type

political analytical

When to use this quote

- news commentary
- political analysis
- public statements

Key Concepts

bias public perception political loyalty

Questions to Reflect On

- Why do we sometimes excuse certain figures?
- How does selective criticism affect public trust?

A Different Perspective

Criticism may ignore broader patterns of misconduct.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Experts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experts/) [Foreign policy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foreign-policy/)

## Related quotes

> [All of a sudden I'm an expert on everything. Interviewers want your opinion on golf, foreign policy and even the price of peanuts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-green/all-of-a-sudden-i-m-an-expert-on-everything-interviewers-want-your/)

Hubert Green

> [White House and State Department foreign-policy experts are overwhelmingly directed towards military and diplomatic issues, not development issues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-sachs/white-house-and-state-department-foreign-policy-experts-are/)

[Jeffrey Sachs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-sachs/)

> [You don't have to be foreign policy expert to succeed as president, but you have to have ice water for blood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/you-don-t-have-to-be-foreign-policy-expert-to-succeed-as-president/)

[George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/)

> [I don't just denounce suicide bombers. I denounce those governments which use indiscriminate slaughter to advance their foreign policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-livingstone/i-don-t-just-denounce-suicide-bombers-i-denounce-those-governments/)

[Ken Livingstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-livingstone/)

> [Trump's biggest success in his first term has been his foreign policy agenda.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mollie-hemingway/trump-s-biggest-success-in-his-first-term-has-been-his-foreign-policy/)

[Mollie Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mollie-hemingway/)

> [From a German point of view, German-American and European-American relations are a pillar of our foreign policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/from-a-german-point-of-view-german-american-and-european-american/)

[Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/)

> [ \[A\]n Obama presidency would be an amusing approximation of the Carter administration, complete with vaporous moralizing and foreign policy bungling. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmett-tyrrell/a-n-obama-presidency-would-be-an-amusing-approximation-of-the-carter/)

[Emmett Tyrrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmett-tyrrell/)

> [We have come a long way in terms of foreign policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-pierre-raffarin/we-have-come-a-long-way-in-terms-of-foreign-policy/)

[Jean-Pierre Raffarin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-pierre-raffarin/)

> [The reality is that our military presence on foreign soil is as offensive to the people that live there as armed Chinese troops would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/the-reality-is-that-our-military-presence-on-foreign-soil-is-as/)

[Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/)

> [The next president needs to know foreign policy and not learn it on the job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-brownback/the-next-president-needs-to-know-foreign-policy-and-not-learn-it-on/)

[Sam Brownback](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-brownback/)

> [21st-century foreign policy is going to be built on countries that can tackle transnational challenges together. Climate change and public health are the top…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-auchincloss/21st-century-foreign-policy-is-going-to-be-built-on-countries-that/)

[Jake Auchincloss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-auchincloss/)

> [The people and the warmakers are two distinct groups. We must never say 'we' when discussing the US government's foreign policy. For one thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/llewellyn-rockwell/the-people-and-the-warmakers-are-two-distinct-groups-we-must-never/)

[Llewellyn Rockwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/llewellyn-rockwell/)

> [ \[Putin\] is a bully. And bullies only understand when we punch them in the nose, but we need to do that economically. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-ayotte/putin-is-a-bully-and-bullies-only-understand-when-we-punch-them-in/)

[Kelly Ayotte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-ayotte/)

> [I can say across Europe that many principles that have been taken for granted here around free speech, and around civil liberties and an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-can-say-across-europe-that-many-principles-that-have-been-taken-for/)

[Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/)

> [Britain should take pride in a foreign policy that reflects her values and responsibilities - but it must be grounded in the tangible interests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dominic-raab/britain-should-take-pride-in-a-foreign-policy-that-reflects-her/)

[Dominic Raab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dominic-raab/)

## More by Lawrence O'Donnell

> [All writers are forced to live within deadlines, and deadlines determine how good they can be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/all-writers-are-forced-to-live-within-deadlines-and-deadlines/)

[Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/)

> [The question for the Republicans running the confirmation hearings in the United States Senate is whose rules are they going to use?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/the-question-for-the-republicans-running-the-confirmation-hearings-in/)

[Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/)

> [Prosecutors have absolutely no control over what witnesses say when they leave the grand jury room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/prosecutors-have-absolutely-no-control-over-what-witnesses-say-when/)

[Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/)

> [Because Republicans defected and voted with all the Democrats to reject Jeff Sessions' nomination when they discovered that when he was working as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/because-republicans-defected-and-voted-with-all-the-democrats-to/)

[Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/)

> [ In this case, the government will essentially be run by the people who are running it now. The top level \[Barack\] Obama appointees will… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/in-this-case-the-government-will-essentially-be-run-by-the-people-who/)

[Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/)

> [I've never understood the value of putting someone on television to lie, knowing that they're going to lie ahead of time, knowing that that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/i-ve-never-understood-the-value-of-putting-someone-on-television-to/)

[Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/)

> [The Trump view of immigration defies our history. Immigration is a transaction that has historically benefited the country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/the-trump-view-of-immigration-defies-our-history-immigration-is-a/)

[Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/)

> [ I don't think anybody knows it was Russia that broke into the DNC. She \[Hillary Clinton\] is saying Russia, Russia, Russia. Maybe it was.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/i-don-t-think-anybody-knows-it-was-russia-that-broke-into-the-dnc-she/)

[Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/)

> [If a reader comes across a story that makes them cry, you can be sure that the writer felt every single thing that makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/if-a-reader-comes-across-a-story-that-makes-them-cry-you-can-be-sure/)

[Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/)

> [National security advisors are not there to be advocates, generally. They're not there to be partisans, they're not there to be ideologues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/national-security-advisors-are-not-there-to-be-advocates-generally/)

[Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/)

> [Never once has Republican world said hey, maybe we should look into how police officers are carrying out their solemn public responsibility to serve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/never-once-has-republican-world-said-hey-maybe-we-should-look-into/)

[Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/)

> [When Ronald Reagan nominated Jeff Sessions for federal district court judgeship, the Senate Judiciary Committee rejected his nomination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/when-ronald-reagan-nominated-jeff-sessions-for-federal-district-court/)

[Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/)

> [Show business comes with wonderfully long vacations, like the life of a college professor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/show-business-comes-with-wonderfully-long-vacations-like-the-life-of/)

[Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/)

> [It is amazing that Jeff Sessions is still in the job. Any self-respecting Attorney General of the United States would have publicly resigned as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/it-is-amazing-that-jeff-sessions-is-still-in-the-job-any-self/)

[Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/)

> [Melania Trump's husband tweeted this: "Arianna Huffington is unattractive both inside and out. I fully understand why her former husband left her for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/melania-trump-s-husband-tweeted-this-arianna-huffington-is/)

[Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/)

[Explore all 214 Lawrence O'Donnell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/)

## More Experts quotes

> [It's a great lesson in modesty that you realize you're illiterate in a field that you think you're an expert in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wim-wenders/it-s-a-great-lesson-in-modesty-that-you-realize-you-re-illiterate-in/)

[Wim Wenders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wim-wenders/)

> [I don't think Alfonso was a big expert on Potter either. He was feeling his way through it more than I was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-thewlis/i-don-t-think-alfonso-was-a-big-expert-on-potter-either-he-was/)

[David Thewlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-thewlis/)

> [As actors, you become an expert at starting over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lupita-nyong-o/as-actors-you-become-an-expert-at-starting-over/)

[Lupita Nyong'o](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lupita-nyong-o/)

> [The Role of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of Expert Performance”: “The differences between expert performers and normal adults are not immutable, that is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-anders-ericsson/the-role-of-deliberate-practice-in-the-acquisition-of-expert/)

K. Anders Ericsson

> [The World Health Organisation has a lot of its medical experts sitting in Geneva while hospitals in Africa have no drugs and desperate patients…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-hanson/the-world-health-organisation-has-a-lot-of-its-medical-experts/)

[Pauline Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-hanson/)

> [The question of boundaries is a major question of the Jewish people because the Jews are the great experts of crossing boundaries. They have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-b-yehoshua/the-question-of-boundaries-is-a-major-question-of-the-jewish-people/)

[A. B. Yehoshua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-b-yehoshua/)

> [Go on - but don't think you can kill my confidence. I've had experts doing it for years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-osborne/go-on-but-don-t-think-you-can-kill-my-confidence-i-ve-had-experts/)

[John Osborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-osborne/)

> [The big story today, Barack Obama was accused of insulting Sarah Palin when he criticized Republican policies by saying, you can put lipstick on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conan-o-brien/the-big-story-today-barack-obama-was-accused-of-insulting-sarah-palin/)

[Conan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conan-o-brien/)

> [This is an extraordinary illustrated collection of Chinese herbsaccompanied by concise and expert comments. Jing-Nuan Wu has succeeded incompiling this most unique and informative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/koji-nakanishi/this-is-an-extraordinary-illustrated-collection-of-chinese/)

Koji Nakanishi

> [“Suckers think that you cure greed with money, addiction with substances, expert problems with experts, banking with bankers, economics with economists, and debt crises…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/suckers-think-that-you-cure-greed-with-money-addiction-with/)

[Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/)

> [I thought if I was open and honest, it would help the reader to get open and honest, and they also would realize sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/i-thought-if-i-was-open-and-honest-it-would-help-the-reader-to-get/)

[John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/)

> [There are experts in little things but there are no experts in big things. There are experts in this fact and that fact but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-ustinov/there-are-experts-in-little-things-but-there-are-no-experts-in-big/)

[Peter Ustinov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-ustinov/)

> [Don't be intimidated by people who seem to be experts. Hear their points of view and get their judgements. But at the end of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-dallek/don-t-be-intimidated-by-people-who-seem-to-be-experts-hear-their/)

[Robert Dallek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-dallek/)

> [Most of us are experts at solving other people's problems, but we generally solve them in terms of our own and the advice we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nan-fairbrother/most-of-us-are-experts-at-solving-other-people-s-problems-but-we/)

[Nan Fairbrother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nan-fairbrother/)

> [The family circle has widened. The worldpool of information fathered by the electric media--movies, Telstar, flight--far surpassesany possible influence mom and dad can now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-family-circle-has-widened-the-worldpool-of-information-fathered/)

[Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/)

[Browse all 1,294 Experts quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experts/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "A number of foreign policy experts distanced themselves from Donald Trump, not Michael Flynn.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Lawrence O'Donnell"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/a-number-of-foreign-policy-experts-distanced-themselves-from-donald/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Experts"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/a-number-of-foreign-policy-experts-distanced-themselves-from-donald/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/136/lawrence-o-donnell-1701_experts_a-number-of-foreign-policy-experts-dista_2412245.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/136/lawrence-o-donnell-1701_experts_a-number-of-foreign-policy-experts-dista_2412245.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/136/lawrence-o-donnell-1701_experts_a-number-of-foreign-policy-experts-dista_2412245.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“A number of foreign policy experts distanced themselves from Donald Trump, not Michael Flynn.” — Lawrence O'Donnell",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Lawrence O'Donnell",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "A number of foreign policy experts...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/a-number-of-foreign-policy-experts-distanced-themselves-from-donald/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/a-number-of-foreign-policy-experts-distanced-themselves-from-donald/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
