{"id":41710,"date":"2021-07-10T07:43:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-10T11:43:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=41710"},"modified":"2021-07-20T12:22:00","modified_gmt":"2021-07-20T16:22:00","slug":"donald-trump-foreign-policy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/donald-trump-foreign-policy\/","title":{"rendered":"Donald Trump: Foreign Policy and “America First”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What was Donald Trump’s approach to foreign policy<\/a>? What did his “America First” policy really entail?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the anonymous author of A Warning<\/em>, a book on the behind-of-scenes of Trump’s presidency, there were several problems with Donald Trump’s foreign policy. No one even knew what \u201cAmerica First\u201d really meant. He didn’t listen to foreign policy experts and changed important policy positions at a whim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let’s take a closer look at Trump’s foreign policy problems and their implications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Donald Trump’s Approach to Foreign Policy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The primary way our leaders keep America safe and secure is through foreign policy. The president must have a well-considered strategy, implemented in conjunction with close allies, for distancing ourselves from adversaries and keeping them from harming us or our interests. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are three main problems with Donald Trump\u2019s foreign policy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1) He has retreated from America\u2019s role as the leader of the free world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2) He lacks a coherent strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3) He\u2019s \u201cflipped the script\u201d by distancing us from our friends and cozying up to enemies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

America\u2019s Role in the World<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For much of our history, regardless of which party has occupied the White House, Americans have seen our country\u2019s role as spreading democracy around the world. Our nation\u2019s Founders believed America would one day to create a global \u201cempire of liberty.\u201d As the nation grew, we began spreading democratic ideals abroad. Over the last century, almost every president has advanced this view. Except for Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After being sworn in, he advocated stepping back from the global leadership and turning inward.<\/strong> He criticized foreign involvement. He contended the U.S. was spending trillions subsidizing other countries\u2019 armies and defending their borders, while our infrastructure fell apart at home and past administrations refused to defend our own borders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are mostly false and shortsighted claims. We\u2019re better off for having helped our allies get stronger\u2014these financial investments mean we don\u2019t face hostile nations without support. They\u2019ve also improved our economic status. As the world has become more democratic, more markets have opened for our goods. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, we\u2019re at a pivotal moment. America\u2019s dominant role is threatened as growing nations aim to compete against us. While competition is a fact of global life, it\u2019s cause for concern if the new rivals don\u2019t share our values and undermine efforts toward a more democratic world. We should be strengthening our alliances and promoting democratic principles. If we step back, our foes will step up with their own agendas. Rather than strengthening the \u201cempire of liberty,\u201d Trump is opening the way for ambitious competitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unpredictable Foreign Policy<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Trump announced his \u201cAmerica First\u201d foreign policy theme in April 2016, resurrecting the old isolationist slogan, intentionally or not, of those who opposed U.S. involvement in World War II. He also argued that we needed to become more \u201cunpredictable\u201d and stop alerting other nations to what we plan to do. Although his meaning wasn\u2019t clear, the word unpredictable does sum up Trump\u2019s foreign policy.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Partly for lack of direction, Trump\u2019s national security team was slow in coming together. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Defense James Mattis had international experience, but they weren\u2019t on board with Trump\u2019s isolationist views. Trump fired his national security advisor Mike Flynn after a few weeks for lying to the FBI about his contacts with high-ranking Russians. For a while, no one seemed to be in charge until Gen. H.R. McMaster replaced Flynn and tried to get everyone on the same page. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The problem was that no one knew what to expect from Trump. He might try to end a trade agreement with Canada after getting angry over a phone call with the prime minister. Or he might want to cut funding to an ally. His actions created a sense of policy whiplash on his foreign policy team at home and abroad. His calls with foreign leaders were an embarrassment\u2014he would make strange pronouncements, brag about himself, or fly off the handle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The president is required by law to produce a national security strategy. Since Trump couldn\u2019t articulate his goals, McMaster\u2019s staff put together a proposal supporting NATO and other U.S. alliances and taking stronger action to counter foes like Russia and North Korea. However, Trump didn\u2019t read it. Consequently, not only are Trump\u2019s advisors in the dark on our country\u2019s direction, so are our allies, who can\u2019t coordinate with us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While our unpredictability can keep enemies off guard at first, it means they eventually stop taking us seriously.<\/strong> Trump is the boy who cried \u201cwolf!\u201d\u2014our friends and enemies are shrugging him off. As one foreign official said, \u201c…we do our best not to pay attention.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Admiration for Dictators<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As a candidate, Trump decried Obama\u2019s overtures to dictators in China, Saudi Arabia, and Cuba; he criticized Obama for letting Putin gain influence<\/a>. However, as president, Trump has gone far beyond that, lavishing praise and admiration on some of the worst \u201cstrongmen.\u201d<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saudi Arabia <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

After the brutal murder by Saudi hitmen of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, Trump refused to criticize crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, although the evidence indicated he was behind it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI want to stick with an ally that in many ways has been very good,\u201d Trump said. Also, he said he believed bin Salman\u2019s denial of involvement. He vented to staff: \u201cOil is at fifty dollars a barrel. Do you know how stupid it would be to pick this fight? Oil would go up to one hundred fifty dollars a barrel. Jesus. How f—ing stupid would I be?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Making matters worse, he publicly thanked bin Salman for keeping oil prices low and told reporters it was a reason he wouldn\u2019t criticize bin Salman. Trump may have been influenced by Jared Kushner, who\u2019d become friends with the crown prince. Kushner urged administration officials to go easy, arguing that the Saudis were surrounded by enemies and we should put ourselves in their shoes\u2014which implied that under those circumstances, we\u2019d murder journalists, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russia<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Most people in the administration wanted to punish the Russians for interfering in the 2016 election. But Trump had cheered them on when he urged them at a campaign event to find the Clinton emails. For a U.S. presidential candidate to urge a foreign power to spy on his opponent was a first for this country. That same day, Russians hackers attempted to access to Hillary Clinton\u2019s personal office. In subsequent weeks, Trump delighted in Russia\u2019s leaks of stolen emails. Even though Russia was trying to manipulate the election, Trump had only praise for Putin: \u201cIf he says great things about me, I\u2019m going to say great things about him,\u201d he told reporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump was furious when Congress sanctioned Russia<\/a> in summer 2017 because he felt Congress was getting in the way of his warm relationship with Putin. When Russia responded by kicking out hundreds of U.S. embassy staff and seizing U.S. diplomatic compounds, Trump thanked him for helping to \u201ccut down on payroll.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump\u2019s admiration for Putin mystifies members of the Steady State. Some have likened it to Trump being the skinny kid on the playground groveling to the bully. Commentators have speculated that Putin has some sort of leverage over Trump, but no evidence of that has surfaced. Whatever is behind Trump\u2019s infatuation for Putin, it\u2019s resulted in his biggest foreign policy misstep: America\u2019s failure to respond to a blatant Russian attack on our democracy. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secret Interactions<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

This naivete makes Trump\u2019s secretive interactions with Putin and other foreign leaders all the more alarming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump\u2019s insistence on meeting privately with Putin in Helsinki was especially disturbing: 1) It was foolish in light of the allegations Trump had colluded with Russia in the election interference, and 2) His refusal to give any reason for the meeting and his insistence on hiding the details from his own staff were unprecedented. We should be concerned about what secret promises Trump is making to countries like Russia and why he wants to hide them.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If he\u2019s reelected, it\u2019s guaranteed that he\u2019ll make more dishonorable requests of foreign leaders that we\u2019re unlikely to learn about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Willful Ignorance<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWillful ignorance\u201d best characterizes Trump\u2019s attitude toward our enemies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to a former FBI official, Trump once dismissed U.S. intelligence information about a rogue country\u2019s missile capability. He said Putin had told him something different, and that\u2019s what he was going with. \u201cI don\u2019t care. I believe Putin,\u201d the official quoted Trump as saying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Trump\u2019s lax attitude toward Russia\u2019s election interference has emboldened it to expand its attacks on American interests. Former national intelligence director Dan Coats testified in January 2019 that Russia is still spreading discord in the U.S. through operations designed to influence public opinion. A few months later, Robert Mueller told Congress the same thing. This should provoke national outrage and demands for action against the Russian government, yet our president ignores it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Love in North Korea<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

North Korea is another example of Trump becoming infatuated with a dictator. For instance, Trump has said admiringly of Kim Jong Un\u2019s ascension to power: \u201cHe goes in, he takes over, and he\u2019s the boss. He wiped out his uncle, he wiped out this one, that one. I mean, this guy doesn\u2019t play games.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He wanted to meet with Kim during the presidential campaign, but North Korea rejected the idea as a propaganda ploy. Once elected, though, he reversed course, announcing a policy of \u201cmaximum pressure\u201d and punishing aggression. But Trump couldn\u2019t stand firm. The dealmaker desperately wanted a deal with Kim, whom he called \u201ca pretty smart cookie.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When South Korean officials, who were visiting Washington, conveyed a message that Kim wanted to meet personally, Trump agreed immediately. While White House officials painted it as a breakthrough, they felt North Korea should have made concessions to earn a meeting. Trump ruled otherwise. He was immediately caught up in the drama rather than substance. He wasn\u2019t concerned about details but about the chemistry he wanted to create with Kim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The summit didn\u2019t produce anything meaningful, yet Trump considered it a great success. \u201cI like him. He likes me,\u201d he said later at a rally. He described the talks this way: \u201cWe went back and forth, then we fell in love. He wrote me beautiful letters and they\u2019re great letters. We fell in love.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When disarmament talks stalled, U.S. negotiators decided to put pressure on North Korea. In late 2018, the U.S. sanctioned three North Korean officials for human rights abuses. Trump furiously demanded, \u201cWho did this? Kim is my friend!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Attracted to Autocrats<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Senior White House officials are mystified by Trump\u2019s attraction to autocrats. One suggested that dictators have what Trump wants: \u201ctotal power, no term limits, enforced popularity, the ability to silence critics for good.<\/strong>\u201d It sounded about right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of Kim Jong Un, Trump said admiringly: \u201cHe speaks and his people sit up at attention. I want my people to do the same.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He complained to Putin about his troubles with a free press: \u201cYou don\u2019t have this problem in Russia, but we do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump doesn\u2019t see our adversaries as threats to our security. To him, they\u2019re trading partners with whom we just need to haggle until we get a good deal. He doesn\u2019t understand that governments like China, Russia, and North Korea are organized to oppose us. Their values are the opposite of ours. We can\u2019t paper over that with a deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Trump claims that U.S policy should be unpredictable<\/a>, it\u2019s a cover for not having a plan. Our enemies realize he\u2019s a pushover\u2014they aren\u2019t afraid of his chest-thumping. <\/strong>They know he\u2019s easily swayed by flattery and he\u2019ll take any deal that he thinks will make him look good. They see him as someone they can take advantage of or just ignore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alienating Allies<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

While Trump cozies up to dictators, he has no qualms about alienating our closest allies<\/strong> and personally insulting their leaders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

An example was his behavior at the 2018 G7 summit in Canada. To begin with, Trump had a bad attitude about the summit because he wasn\u2019t getting star treatment, he\u2019d have to interact with other leaders who disagreed with him, and he wasn\u2019t interested in many of the issues on the table. Also, he\u2019d alienated many of the allies by imposing new tariffs. He was getting criticism for implementing new trade barriers while G7 leaders had long worked to eliminate barriers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of mending fences or focusing on mutual interests, Trump went on the attack:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  • He arrived late and scolded other leaders for \u201cunfair trade practices.\u201d<\/li>
  • He sniped at Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, volunteering to send him 25 million Mexicans, since Japan didn\u2019t seem to have an immigration problem.<\/li>
  • He threw a Starburst candy at German chancellor Angela Merkel, saying, \u201cDon\u2019t say I never give you anything.\u201d<\/li>
  • He called for Russia to be readmitted to G7 meetings\u2014it had been ousted over Putin\u2019s invasion of Crimea. <\/li>
  • Before leaving the summit early, Trump went on a Twitter rant blasting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as \u201cvery dishonest and weak.\u201d<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    We pay a price for Trump\u2019s behavior\u2014American officials get a cold shoulder when we need a foreign partner\u2019s help on something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Besides his insults, Trump is damaging our relationships with allies and our long-term security with threats and punitive actions. For instance,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    • He\u2019s imposed trade penalties, invoking \u201cnational security.\u201d<\/li>
    • He threatened to discard a defense treaty with Japan.<\/li>
    • He regularly threatens to withdraw from agreements to get partners to do what he wants, including showing loyalty to him.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      Some of our allies have learned how to play Trump, rather than waiting for an attack.<\/strong> For instance, after watching dictators flatter Trump, Israel\u2019s leaders have similarly stroked his ego to get what they want. They\u2019ve named settlements after him and found other ways to appeal to his vanity to get concessions. This shouldn\u2019t become the norm for U.S. foreign relations any more than Trump\u2019s insults should.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Remember that our foreign policy\u2014the relationships we build and the actions we take to deter countries out to harm us\u2014is the way we ensure our security. Contrary to what Trump says, our friends aren\u2019t taking advantage of us. And we need them. Unfortunately, however, they no longer trust us, thanks to Trump\u2019s insults, lies, bullying, and erratic conduct. Many are planning to either live without us or deal with us as a rival.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      We Have a Choice<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      In the past, the United States has shaped world history. Winston Churchill recognized this in appealing for America\u2019s help to turn the tide of World War II. He wrote: \u201cHow heavily do the destinies of this generation hang upon the government and the people of the United States\u2026 Will the United States throw their weight into the scales of peace and law and freedom while time remains\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The question is whether we\u2019re still willing to weigh in for the cause of freedom or be spectators instead. Would we rather be in \u201ca small club of thugs\u201d than \u201ca big club of free nations\u201d?<\/strong> The world doesn\u2019t know which way we\u2019ll go. Surveys show our international reputation has taken a nosedive under Trump. Others believe we\u2019re failing to step up to address global concerns. Positive views of the U.S. are at a record low, according to the Pew Research center. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Henry Kissenger said that \u201cthe goals of America\u2019s past\u2014peace, stability, progress and freedom\u2014will have to be sought in a journey that has no end.\u201d We and our leaders have to choose clearly between right and wrong, friend and foe. In that, Trump has failed us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      What was Donald Trump’s approach to foreign policy? What did his “America First” policy really entail? According to the anonymous author of A Warning, a book on the behind-of-scenes of Trump’s presidency, there were several problems with Donald Trump’s foreign policy. No one even knew what \u201cAmerica First\u201d really meant. He didn’t listen to foreign policy experts and changed important policy positions at a whim. Let’s take a closer look at Trump’s foreign policy problems and their implications.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":35085,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[81,275,24],"tags":[422],"class_list":["post-41710","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economics","category-politics","category-society","tag-a-warning","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nDonald Trump: Foreign Policy and "America First" - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The main way our leaders keep America safe is through foreign policy. But did Donald Trump's approach to foreign policy align with this end?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/donald-trump-foreign-policy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Donald Trump: Foreign Policy and "America First"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The main way our leaders keep America safe is through foreign policy. But did Donald Trump's approach to foreign policy align with this end?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/donald-trump-foreign-policy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-07-10T11:43:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-07-20T16:22:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/trump-flag-american-flag-sky-flagpole.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"719\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Darya Sinusoid\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Darya Sinusoid\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"12 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/donald-trump-foreign-policy\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/donald-trump-foreign-policy\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Darya Sinusoid\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0421cce75bc249b11e2517b3a91f9c46\"},\"headline\":\"Donald Trump: Foreign Policy and “America First”\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-07-10T11:43:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-07-20T16:22:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/donald-trump-foreign-policy\/\"},\"wordCount\":2700,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/donald-trump-foreign-policy\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/trump-flag-american-flag-sky-flagpole.jpeg\",\"keywords\":[\"A Warning\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Economics\",\"Politics\",\"Society\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/donald-trump-foreign-policy\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/donald-trump-foreign-policy\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/donald-trump-foreign-policy\/\",\"name\":\"Donald Trump: Foreign Policy and \\\"America First\\\" - Shortform Books\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/donald-trump-foreign-policy\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/donald-trump-foreign-policy\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/trump-flag-american-flag-sky-flagpole.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-07-10T11:43:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-07-20T16:22:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"The main way our leaders keep America safe is through foreign policy. 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