Query
What will be the philosophy of Donald Trump's
foreign policy?
Essay
“Our country is right now perceived as weak ... as being
spit on by the rest of the world ...
Weakness always causes problems ... If this country gets any kinder or gentler, it’s literally going to cease to
exist.” ~ Donald Trump, 1990 Playboy interview
Define Doctrine
The word is of importance
to understand. The policy is not just a suggestion or wish, but an absolute. When
used by the Executive Branch, (traditionally) becomes a long standing policy. Doctrine,
according to the Dictionary, is a “position or policy taught or advocated”
Doctrines by Term
5th US President James Monroe (term 1817-1825 ) established
his doctrine: that The Americas would not have involvement in European affairs
and conversely there would be European involvement in The Americas. 26th President Theodore Roosevelt (term
1901-1909) established a corollary to the Monroe Doctrine: The US will not
interfere with friendly countries; it will react to continuing misconduct. 33rd
President Harry Truman (term 1945-1953) attested that the US will send money
and arms to countries that resisting communism. 39th POTUS Jimmy Carter
(term 1977-1981) established an interest in protecting the US oil interests in
the Persian Gulf. 40th President Reagan (1981-1989) provided actual
ongoing military and financial support for a specific cause; the Contras in
Nicaragua. Our last example is Bush, (43rd POTUS, 2001-2009) whose
beliefs that those who aid and abet our enemies are our enemies. [Kelly]
Establishing previous POTUS Foreign Policy Doctrines,
we see they have escalated. From basic exclusion to hostile intent breeds
hostile intent. To aiding and abetting factions that hold similar belief
against factions that are disagreeable. To attaining a foothold to resources
for purely economic gain, to citing a reasonable excuse to go to war with
persons whom we previously had no reason to.
It seems to warrant then, that, as in most of the government’s
leaning, policies will not ease up, rather they will tighten. Foremost, Mr. Trump
is a businessperson, with a public record for falsifying, failing and racially
discriminating. [Graham] Given the historical actions of the man, his foreign
policy will bolster no civic burdens, nor will it be worldly good from a moral
standpoint. Indeed, the fifth executive order down the Presidential Pipeline
(just 7 days in office) was the Muslim Ban which “banned foreign nationals from
seven predominantly Muslim countries from visiting the country for 90 days,
suspended entry to the country of all Syrian refugees indefinitely, and
prohibited any other refugees from coming into the country for 120 days.”
[ACLU]
Prognosticate POTUS Policy
We seek here to posit what is our current POTUS
plan; his philosophy.. However his foreign policy was well formed. It started on
the campaign trail. Professor Paul K. MacDonald, relates that Trump’s Foreign Policy
is an “America First” mentality, that Trump’s policies indicate America “needs
to get better deals from other
countries” and, on the whole “Trump laid out a foreign policy vision profoundly at odds with
American traditions.”
Germany’s Goethe University
Professor Reinhard Wolf gives us a transcontinental view on the US POTUS’s foreign
policy. Wolf reminds us that, since 1987, Trump changed his party registration “at
least five times”. According to Trumps words, deeds and actions he “lacks any
clear sense of direction concerning the substantive
goals of American foreign policy” and that overall, “Instead, the key to understanding
Trump’s foreign-policy outlook lies in his extreme attention to symbolism.
Questions of substance are eclipsed by an obsession with status and respect. His
well-known fixation with personal prestige also shapes his view of America’s
place in the world. His life-long desire to look like a ‘winner’ who enjoys the
respect of his peers always figured prominently in Trump’s take
on American external relations.”
W.H. Foreign Policy Memorandums
To appreciate the seriousness to which the current
white house takes its Foreign Policy, let’s visit White House official Foreign Policy
statements. Current assertions that China “allowed the deadly virus to spread
across the world” berating news media source Voice of America for abusing “American
Tax Dollars” (grossly misleading; VOA is funded
by citizens, who are presumably taxpayers. Also of note, VOA has“not failed a
fact check[Media Bias]) At a statement of this magnitude made on April 10th,
a 4+ months after much of the nation; including both our rural coastal directors
and populous; teeming with distress since January. It seems manically finger-pointing
that Mr. Trump would take this late opportunity to comment under the White
House public Foreign Policy.
In closing
The aforementioned reflection concludes that it
will not be hard to determine what the Trump Doctrine, when all boiled down and
passed to the history books, will taste like, overall. I opine that it will be
a bitter and petty dish, stuffed with boloney, garnished heavily with diatribe.
Bibliography
ACLU. Timeline of the Muslim Ban. n.d. 17 Apr
2020. <https://aclu-wa.org/pages/timeline-muslim-ban >.
Dictionary. Doctrine, defined. n.d. 17 Apr
2020. <https://www.dictionary.com/browse/doctrine>.
Graham, David A. The Many Scandals of Donald
Trump: A Cheat Sheet, The Atlantic. 23 Jan 2017. 17 Apr 2020.
<https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/01/donald-trump-scandals/474726/>.
Kelly, Martin. Top 6 Key U.S. Presidential
Foreign Policy Doctrines, Thought Co. 09 May 2019. 17 Apr 2020.
<https://www.thoughtco.com/top-six-foreign-policy-doctrines-105473>.
Macdonald, Paul K. "America First? Explaining
Continuity and Change in Trump’s Foreign Policy." Political Science
Quarterly vol. 133 no. 3 (Fall 2018). <http://web.a.ebscohost.com.mendocino.idm.oclc.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=5&sid=4a61c7cb-0606-45e9-8aab-c3a742fe02a3%40sdc-v-sessmgr03>.
Media Bias / Fact Check. Voice of America.
n.d. 17 Apr 2020. <https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/voice-of-america/>.
The White House; Foreign Policy. Amid a Pandemic,
Voice of America Spends Your Money to Promote Foreign Propaganda. 10 Apr
2020. 17 Apr 2020.
<https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/amid-a-pandemic-voice-of-america-spends-your-money-to-promote-foreign-propaganda/>.
Wolf, Reinhard. "Donald Trump’s Status-Driven
Foreign Policy." Survival (00396338) vol. 59, no. 5 (Oct 2017):
pp 99-116.
<http://web.a.ebscohost.com.mendocino.idm.oclc.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=7&sid=4a61c7cb-0606-45e9-8aab-c3a742fe02a3%40sdc-v-sessmgr03>.
744 words not including
restatement of query or opening quote.
POL200 Mendocino College
Spring 2020 Prof. Liljeblad
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