Among the many epithets thrown at Trump is that he is an “isolationist.” Nonsense.
True, Trump has little patience with useless, calcified international organizations like the UN. Yet Trump is quite content to throw America’s substantial weight around for cause.
But what, for Trump, is sufficient cause? One is a clear national security interest, which properly motivates Trump’s focus on Iran and China, both of which countries are functional enemies of the United States.
Another obvious cause involves trade. Even those discomforted by Trump’s tariffs acknowledge much of the world treats Americans poorly when it comes to trade. If he just erected trade barriers and left it at that, then the isolationist charge would stick. Instead, he’s busy negotiating trade deals to reduce trade barriers on both sides.
Perhaps the most surprising cause motivating Trump’s foreign policy is people. Trump abhors the loss of life in the various military conflicts. Everyone does, of course, but if as President of the United States Trump can step in and stop the killing, then he directs his team to go all out.
Consider, for example, Trump’s push for a durable ceasefire in Gaza. In reality, American national security interests here are minimal except for the general policy of supporting Israel.
The Biden Administration was mostly content to sit on the sidelines, but Trump actively pursues an end to the killing. Why? Because Trump finds the civilian deaths appalling.
An essential condition for Trump’s engagement is practicality. Trump engages where a solution is possible. Unfortunately, as he has learned, peace with Hamas is impossible as it would require either Israel committing a massive strategic blunder or the destruction of Hamas. Knowing this, Kudos to Trump for trying, but it is time to back away except to help find Palestinian new homes elsewhere in the Middle East.
Much the same story plays out in the Russia/Ukraine war. Trump could just pull-up stakes, leaving the Ukrainians, Russians, and Europeans to sort out their mess. Americans did their duty toward Ukraine for the first years of the war, with Biden acting as a sometimes fumbling first responder because Europe wasn’t up to the task. But Europe and Ukraine have both shifted into high gear in building the kit necessary to fend off the Russian bear as the recent Ukrainian drone strikes deep inside Russia confirms.
America should never abandon Ukraine, but it’s time to take a back seat. Trump would seemingly be content with this except for one thing. Trump is appalled at the loss of life, military and Ukrainian civilian. If he can use his formerly friendly relationship with Russia’s Putin to mediate a ceasefire leading to peace, then he’ll put in the effort. Sadly, Putin has zero interest in peace, so the war goes on, but it will do so mostly without the United States.
Trump’s emphasis on preserving life showed up again recently when he dispatched his team to defuse what threatened to become all-out war between nuclear-armed powers India and Pakistan. While one can puff up the importances, the reality remains that such a war, if it occurred, would while tragic nevertheless be tangential to U.S. interests. This time, Trump’s efforts bore immediate fruit and possibly thousands are alive today as a result.
Trump’s revealed foreign policy is to engage when there is a clear danger as with China, when American companies and workers are being injured by unfair trade, when innocents are being killed and Trump can stop it, and otherwise let the world do what it wants; sounds pretty reasonable.
JD Foster is the former chief economist at the Office of Management and Budget and former chief economist and senior vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He now resides in relative freedom in the hills of Idaho.
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