Donald Trump Has Destroyed American Foreign Policy
Alas, Trump’s foreign policy approach is failing everywhere. The war in Ukraine is still raging and shows little signs of ebbing, despite Trump literally rolling out a red carpet for Putin in Alaska last month. The situation in Gaza is grimmer than ever: Israeli troops are conducting ground operations in Gaza City, the Israeli government is threatening to annex all of the West Bank, and Trump is clinging to a sociopathic plan to rebuild the Gaza Strip as a massive resort, the revenue from which would be used to “resettle” its Palestinian residents. He’s no closer to brokering an end to the conflict, and meanwhile risking alliances he has cultivated in the Middle East, particularly with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. His “Liberation Day” tariffs, meanwhile, have infuriated nearly the entire world and turned even steadfast allies—particularly those in Europe—against the United States.
And I haven’t even mentioned Venezuela yet. In early August, Trump’s secretary of state, Marco Rubio, announced a $50 million bounty on the head of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, and the U.S. has since deployed seven warships to the waters off Venezuela. Then, on Tuesday, Trump announced an airstrike on a boat in international waters that he said was piloted by Tren de Aragua “terrorists” smuggling drugs to the U.S. Eleven people were killed. On Wednesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth promised that it was just the beginning of a larger assault on a nation that he deemed a “narco-state.” “President Trump is willing to go on offense in ways that others have not seen,” Hegseth said. As for regime change, “That’s a presidential decision, and we’re prepared with every asset that the American military has.”
By antagonizing friends and foes alike, Trump has isolated the U.S. globally, creating the ideal conditions for Russia, China, and India to join hands in what could be a globally destabilizing alliance. That’s the irony of his quest for a Nobel Peace Prize: The man who wants to rename the Department of Defense the Department of War has rapidly made the world a much more dangerous place. There’s no prize for that, but it’s clear who will reap the rewards.
