외교 결례? 신경 안 써!…미, 레이싱 대회 전날 ‘대사 초대’ 취소 통보

The United States under President Donald Trump recently invited foreign diplomats to attend the IndyCar race in Washington, but canceled the invitations the day before the event. This act has been criticized as a diplomatic faux pas. According to a New York Times report on the 25th (local time), the U.S. State Department sent an email on the 23rd, just before the race, canceling VIP invitations to some embassies.

Two weeks earlier, all foreign diplomats had been invited to the event as VIPs, but the sudden cancellation left several nations in a difficult situation. Many diplomats received emails informing them of the cancellation only in the early morning of the event's day, after they had already gathered at the State Department building, Harry S. Truman Building.

Some even invited companions, only to face further complications. One high-ranking diplomat told the New York Times that they thought the event was too important to take a leave of absence and had returned to Washington. Diplomats who were invited but the invitation was canceled asked the media to avoid mentioning their country to avoid diplomatic embarrassment.

A vacant seat remained at the VIP section, leading to questions about the reason for the cancellation. One of the invited diplomats, Monaco's Ambassador to the United States, Macri Macario, later realized that other diplomats' invitations had been canceled after seeing the empty seat in the VIP suite. The U.S. State Department stated that the cancellation was due to changes by the event's organizer.

However, IndyCar officials clarified that the VIP invitations were not given any special status above that of general admission. The event's organizer, Pensek Group, built 78 VIP lounges, each capable of accommodating 30 to 40 people, for $200,000 per room. General admission tickets were also available for $5,500 per person. U.S. State Department official Jeremy Shapiro, head of the European Affairs Policy Group, commented that the Trump administration does not care about how other nations view them, only diplomats.

The New York Times noted that the VIP invitations at the IndyCar race had become a diplomatic snub. The Trump administration has been shown to care little about traditional diplomacy, as it currently has no ambassadors or representatives in 90+ countries and international organizations such as UNESCO, UN Human Rights Council, IAEA, and APEC.

The U.S. Department of State has laid off 3,500 diplomats or caused them to resign, and the State Department itself laid off 1,000 employees last year.