WADG cannot make President Trump's foreign policy...innovations our constant center of attention. We have four years of that ahead of us.
But radical actions are moving forwards already at an astonishing pace, just like with the Administration's domestic agenda. The United States has, off the top of my head, pulled out of the Paris climate accord, the World Health Organization and the UN Human Rights Council. Trump imposed, then quickly dropped, large across the board tariffs on our largest trading partners, then imposed more tariffs. ALL non-military U.S. foreign aid has been suspended, and USAID has been basically abolished, and the tiny remainder will be folded into the State Department. All military aid to Ukraine was suspended pending an internal "review." and Trump's peace plan basically abandons Ukraine to Russia.
The man even seems to want to expand U.S. territory, 19th century-style. He i still threatening to buy or just seize Greenland and the Panama Canal, and (most absurdly) even the Gaza Strip.
Many of these policies are flatly illegal and unconstitutional. Others are probably just bluster and brinksmanship strategy. Yet, which ones the courts would reverse if it came down to that - and whether the Administration would defy SCOTUS rulings - is not yet clear.
His domestic policies, many of which we know will stand, will also impact our relations with the rest of the world, especially border and immigration policies. As would any successful effort to gut the federal workforce, since many of them work on foreign policy and resolving global problems. Elon Musk and other top advisors seem to have their own personal foreign policy agendas, as well.
It is early days, and WADG's purpose is to discuss/learn about world affairs - not just our country's participation in them. Other topics cover events/trends in other countries and the status of big global problems. I would also like to do future topics on how history could guide U.S. foreign relations.
Still, it is not too early to do some informed speculation on WHY President Trump is doing what he is doing in foreign affairs and WHAT he hopes to accomplish. Join WADG on March 9th to discuss this. The week before the meeting, DavidG will post some background readings that try to answer these questions. For now, maybe try one of these:
- The Costs of Trump’s Foreign Policy Disruption | Council on Foreign Relations.
- Pundit Says Foreign Leaders Just Learned The Simple Key To Manipulating Trump
