Recovering from the Trump foreign policy - Brookings Institution

ith Donald Trump as president, analysis and commentary is often chasing headlines. Whether it is his decision to disinvite the Philadelphia Eagles to the White House, his declaration that he is the law when it comes to the Mueller investigation or the tirade against Canada, it’s hard to avoid head-scratching and headaches while reading the news. Some of this is noise, created by the president to distract his foes, divert popular attention and drum up support. Other presidential pronouncements have important and  immediate policy consequences. But whoever takes his place, whether in 2021 or 2025, will have to manage the fallout from all this chaos and fix his many mistakes.

Some repairs, while extensive, may still be easy. Even if Trump’s successor favors a more traditional foreign policy, however, he or she cannot simply sweep the Trump administration under a rug and resume the previous course. The United States has lost influence with allies and is squandering much of its “soft power” in ways that will make it difficult to regain.

One of the biggest challenges, and one discussed in detail by my Brookings colleague Thomas Wright and other experts, is Trump’s retreat from the world order the United States created and championed after World War II—a retreat also seen in the United Kingdom, Italy and other parts of the world. One can point to many fits and starts, but in general both Republican and Democratic administrations advanced free trade, U.S.-led alliances and international institutions, while Trump has scorned all three.

A successor to Trump can try to renew these commitments but must do so with the world recognizing that a sizeable share of Americans oppose these traditional components of the world order and that a leader championing these Americans might again gain power. In addition, Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran deal after years of painstaking negotiations shows that the United States will not necessarily honor its commitments: It is an administration that is making a deal apparently. The shadow of the future is far grimmer, as a commitment that binds one administration may no longer bind its successors. - Read More

Recovering from the Trump foreign policy - Brookings Institution