IN CASE YOU FORGOT:
Donald Trump's Foreign Policy Blunders
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During his first term in office, Donald Trump abandoned our allies and embraced dictators, undermined democracy at every turn, prioritized his personal interests over those of the United States, dishonored America’s veterans, and made the world a more volatile and dangerous place. Simply put: Donald Trump’s foreign policy made America less safe.
Trump damaged relationships with our allies. He described the European Union as a “foe” of the United States and repeatedly attacked our allies Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. He also withdrew the United States from international bodies that protect U.S. interests and told European partners that “NATO is dead.” He also questioned U.S. contributions to the U.S.-Japan alliance that deters China and protects America. In his second term, Trump will continue to attack our closest allies and undermine our most important partnerships – look no further than his promise to let Russia “do whatever the hell they want” to NATO members and his plan to invade Mexico.
He attempted to extort Ukraine for personal political gain. Congress impeached Trump for withholding $250 million of military support from Ukraine until its leaders announced a sham investigation into President Biden and his family ahead of the 2020 election. In a phone call that alarmed national security professionals, Trump demanded that President Zelenskyy interfere in the U.S. election and later attempted to cover-up his crimes amid whistleblower complaints. Trump is committed to ending U.S. aid to Ukraine during his second term and enacting a “peace plan” that would reward Putin for his invasion by ceding Ukrainian territory to Russia.
Trump cozied up to Putin. According to his former National Security Advisor, Putin exploited Trump’s “ego and insecurities,” convincing Trump to publicly side with him over U.S. intelligence experts who determined that Russia interfered with the 2016 election. Years later, Trump continues to lavishly praise Vladimir Putin, saying Putin’s strategy of invading Ukraine was “genius.” The Russians returned the favor by publicly supporting J.D. Vance, Trump’s Vice Presidential pick. Trump later suggested that he would lift sanctions on Russia and Iran during his second term, a true gift to Putin and his close allies.
He hurt everyday Americans with a disastrous trade war. Trump launched an ill-conceived trade war with China that hurt the U.S. economy and failed to achieve its objectives, instead ballooning the U.S. trade deficit with China. Trump’s trade policy punished American businesses and farmers, cost nearly 300,000 jobs, and amounted to one of the largest tax increases on U.S. consumers in recent history. He has promised to pick up where he left off – with even more aggressive policies, including an across-the-board 10 to 20 percent tax on all imports, costing the typical American household as much as $3,900 a year.
Trump dishonored America’s military and veterans. Trump called fallen soldiers “suckers” and “losers” and said he prefers heroes who weren’t captured. He frequently insults members of the military, calling them “some of the dumbest people I’ve ever met in my life” and “a bunch of dopes and babies.” Trump even went so far as to suggest the execution of former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley. He continues to insult his former military advisers and has used the military as a campaign prop. In his second term, Trump has promised to replace military leaders with MAGA loyalists – look no further his nomination of Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defense – and continue to fail our nation’s veterans by reducing their disability benefits and stripping women veterans of their reproductive rights.
He and his family lined their pockets with Saudi and foreign money. An investigation found that Trump’s business received at least $7.8 million from 20 foreign governments during his presidency. At the Trump Hotel in Washington, the Trump family raked in as much as $10,000 a night to rent rooms to individuals with ties to foreign governments, which experts believed was an effort to curry favor with Donald Trump. The Trump family’s corruption didn’t stop when he left the White House. Just six months after Trump left office, his son-in-law Jared Kushner signed a $2 billion deal with the Saudi Crown Prince’s private equity investment fund. In his second term with even fewer guardrails, he will likely continue to compromise American national security to fill his family’s pockets.
Trump was bamboozled by North Korea’s brutal dictator. Trump rewarded Kim Jong Un with a Presidential visit to North Korea, which he called an “honor,” bragged about falling “in love” with Kim through “beautiful” and “great” letters, and invited him for an unprecedented White House visit. Despite Trump’s bromance with the oppressive dictator, there was no substantive agreement during Trump’s time in office, and North Korea's nuclear program continued to develop at a rapid pace. Trump has steadfastly refused to propose a concrete policy on North Korea beyond his suggestion that “getting along” with a murderous dictator “is a good thing.”
He ripped apart families and put children in cages. Trump implemented an inhumane and cruel policy of removing children from their families at the border and keeping them in cages, resulting in the separation of at least 5,000 children from their families. His administration failed to keep detailed records making it nearly impossible to reunite many of those families. Worse yet, he stood by the cruelty of these actions, arguing it was an effective tool. Trump also killed a bipartisan border security package he himself negotiated with Congressional Democrats, allowing the border crisis to worsen under his leadership. Moving forward, Trump has refused to rule out a renewed family separation policy and promises to reinstate his extremist and failed policies while implementing even more draconian policies including mass deportations.
Trump botched the response to a catastrophic global pandemic. He failed to acknowledge the full extent of the COVID-19 threat, shut down the White House office on pandemic preparedness, spread conspiracy theories and misinformation about the pandemic, and pressured states to abandon precautionary measures while the pandemic raged on. At every turn, Trump downplayed the risks of the COVID-19 pandemic and ignored the advice of qualified and experienced public health advisors, leading to an unforgivable death toll of more than 400,000 Americans during his tenure.
Trump provoked and embraced an attack on our democracy. On January 6, 2021, Trump told his supporters, “If you don't fight like hell you're not going to have a country anymore.” They took his encouragement to heart, marching on the Capitol and engaging in a violent insurrection where they attacked police officers and attempted to stop the certification of a free and fair election. Now, Trump says he will “absolutely” pardon the rioters when he becomes president.
He brought us closer to nuclear armageddon. Trump abandoned the Iran nuclear deal, broke off non-proliferation talks with Russia, and provoked nuclear tensions with North Korea by threatening to unleash “fire and fury like the world has never seen” – prompting scientists to declare that the world was closest to a world-ending disaster since 1953. Trump’s second administration will have even fewer “adults in the room” to prevent his worst instincts, creating an even more dangerous environment at a time when Russia has repeatedly threatened nuclear war.
Trump rolled out the red carpet for the Taliban. According to his former National Security Advisor, Trump was responsible for a deal that allowed the Taliban to dictate the terms of the withdrawal of the U.S. military from Afghanistan, leaving few options on the table for a safe and orderly evacuation. This deal included the release of 5,000 seasoned Taliban fighters, the majority of whom likely returned to the battlefield. Prior to that, Trump overruled the advice of his own national security team and his own Vice President by inviting the Taliban to Camp David near the 18th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks.
Published: September 2024
Updated: November 2024