Debora Cahn on ‘The Diplomat’ and “using your words”
Post Reports
The Washington Post
4.4 • 5.1K Ratings
🗓️ 25 January 2025
⏱️ 43 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Ahead of President Donald Trump’s inauguration, scores of career diplomats at the State Department were asked by Trump aides to resign.
Trump campaigned on dismantling what he has called the “deep state” of federal bureaucrats, who he views as lacking loyalty to him and undermining his agenda. The forced departures were seen as confirmation of this plan – and a step toward changing the tone of the department.
But who are these bureaucrats, and what are their stories?
Those are the driving questions behind Netflix’s “The Diplomat.” Martine Powers spoke to its creator and executive producer, Debora Cahn. The show is about the life of a no-nonsense Foreign Service officer who’s suddenly made the U.S. ambassador to Britain. It is messy, it is human, and it – unintentionally – sometimes seems to be in conversation with the headlines.
On “Post Reports” today, Martine and Debora talk about the stories we don’t hear out of the Foreign Service, the allure of “competency porn,” and what “The Diplomat” can tell us about the value of “using your words.”
Today’s show was produced and mixed by Rennie Svirnovskiy, with help from Peter Bresnan. It was edited by Maggie Penman.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | In our republic, the voters decide the course of our nation, both domestically and abroad. |
| 0:08.3 | And they have elected Donald J. Trump as our president when it comes to foreign policy on a very clear mission. |
| 0:14.0 | Earlier this week, newly confirmed Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke for the first time to employees of the State Department. |
| 0:21.8 | And that mission is to ensure that our foreign policy is centered on one thing, and that is the |
| 0:26.6 | advancement of our national interest. Rubio will be leading an agency that many people see as |
| 0:32.5 | under threat. Trump himself has called it the Deep State Department. Even before his inauguration, scores of senior career diplomats were told by Trump aides they needed to resign. |
| 0:44.7 | And there are expectations that how the U.S. interacts with the rest of the world is about to change in a big way. |
| 0:51.5 | There will be changes, but the changes are not meant to be destructive. They're not |
| 0:54.8 | meant to be punitive. They're not out of, the changes will be because we need to be a 21st century |
| 1:00.4 | agency that can move by a cliche that's used by many at the speed of relevance. |
| 1:08.0 | Recently, hearing about all these changes coming for the federal workforce, I've been wondering, |
| 1:13.9 | what do we think of when we think of a civil servant? |
| 1:17.7 | What shapes our understanding of what these people do, why their jobs exist, and whether |
| 1:24.4 | they're actually good for our country and for the world. |
| 1:28.7 | Funny enough, one place where I've seen these questions raised is on TV, |
| 1:33.5 | and a show on Netflix called The Diplomat. |
| 1:36.5 | You are not doing this to restore our reputation in the world. |
| 1:41.4 | I just ought to be good. |
| 1:43.1 | Why am I doing it? |
| 1:44.4 | You're scared your enemies think you're too old and frail to put Americans in the line of fire. |
| 1:49.9 | That's Carrie Russell, one of the stars of the diplomat. |
| 1:53.2 | The second season of the show came out late last year. |
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