Trump’s Failed Foreign Policy Puts Our Adversaries First and the American People Last

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Donald Trump’s foreign policy has been defined by chaos, confusion, and corruption. He cozied up to dictators, sold out our closest allies, weakened our standing in the world, and brought us to the edge of devastating conflicts – all while ignoring the advice of military leaders and national security experts who dedicated their lives to keeping us safe.

Today, Trump is undermining America’s role in the world once again – by abandoning our allies, embracing foreign autocrats, and promoting policies that forsake global leadership and increase the risk of disastrous military conflict.

Trump Weakened the Alliances that Keep Americans Safe

  • Threatened NATO. Since 2016, Trump has called NATO – a critical alliance that has prevented wars in Europe for more than seventy years – “obsolete” and questioned whether it was worth the investment. He has repeatedly threatened to pull out of the alliance and suggested that we wouldn’t come to the defense of our closest allies. In 2024, he went so far as to encourage Russia to “do whatever the hell they want” to our European allies.

  • Betrayed Our Closest Allies. Trump described the European Union as a ‘foe’ of the United States and repeatedly attacked the leaders of Germany, France, and the United Kingdom – some of our closest economic partners. In Asia, he nearly sabotaged military agreements with Japan and South Korea – both of whom are key partners in standing up to China.

Trump Undermined America’s Values and Standing around the World

  • Ignored the Threat of Climate Change. Trump relinquished America’s leadership role by rolling back policies designed to ensure clean air and water, pulling out of global efforts to address climate change, denying the findings of his own government, and promising to curtail historic progress in this existential fight.

  • Pulled Out of Treaties that Keep Us Safe. Trump abandoned international military agreements that had helped prevent nuclear war with Russia for decades, including agreements which banned certain types of nuclear weapons and allowed the U.S. to  monitor the Russian programs.

  • Banned Muslims. Trump undermined America’s commitment to religious freedom and tolerance by enacting a discriminatory travel ban on travelers from predominantly Muslim countries – part of his systematic effort to target religious freedoms both at home and abroad, especially for religious minorities.

Trump’s Failed Dealmaking Empowered America’s Adversaries

  • Ballooned Trade Deficits with China. Trump railed against America’s trade with China, arguing that he would negotiate a “better deal” for Americans – but all he delivered were failed policies that hurt the American economy and cost hundreds of thousands of jobs. Despite all of his big talk, Trump’s “historic trade deal” worsened American trade deficits and failed to live up to its hype – with China buying none of the additional $200 billion of exports that his deal promised.

  • Got Played by Dictators. Describing his relationship with the brutal North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, Trump said “Kim wrote me beautiful letters and they’re great letters. We fell in love.” Despite his unprecedented embrace of the autocratic leader, there is nothing to show for Trump’s approach. North Korea's nuclear program has continued to advance at a rapid pace, relations with America’s ally, South Korea are at an all-time low. Despite Russia’s invasion of a close European ally and interference in our elections, Donald Trump has repeatedly bowed before Russian President Vladimir Putin. In a humiliating press conference that John McCain called “one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory,” Trump deferred to Putin and told the world he trusted the Russian leader more than his own intelligence agencies. And despite claiming that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping “love each other,” Donald Trump did nothing to confront China’s predatory practices in trade with America.

  • Pushed Iran Closer to Nuclear Weapons. Against the advice of his national security advisors, Trump pulled out of a historic agreement that was preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons. After Trump’s announcement, the Iranians restarted their program and are now closer to a nuclear weapon than ever before.

When His Dealmaking Failed, Trump Increased Tensions, Threatened War, and Made Americans Less Safe.

  • Threatened Nuclear War. Throughout Trump’s first administration, he publicly threatened to unleash “fire and fury like the world has never seen” against North Korea. Trump sent a late-night tweet blustering that his “nuclear button” was a “much bigger and more powerful one” than Kim Jong Un’s. Behind closed doors, Trump even proposed using a nuclear weapon against the rogue state and blaming the strike on another country.

  • Pushed for Another War in the Middle East. In 2020, Trump took to Twitter to threaten attacks on Iranian cultural sites – which would have been a war crime. Trump later asked his advisors for options to strike Iran’s main nuclear sites. Such a strike would almost certainly have led to a widespread conflict in the region, risking the lives of American servicemembers.

  • Proposed Invading America’s Neighbors. During Oval Office meetings, Trump has repeatedly asked aides why the United States couldn’t simply invade foreign countries. Trump allegedly said it would be “cool” to invade Venezuela. In 2020, Trump repeatedly threatened to bomb or even invade Mexico, while dismissing the potentially disastrous consequences of a chaotic and deadly war on our southern border.

Trump Arrogantly Dismissed the Opinions of American Military Leaders

  • Ignored the Advice of Generals. Trump thinks he knows more about the military than the decorated and experienced military leaders who have dedicated their lives to defending the country while swearing an oath to the Constitution. Trump frequently insults military officials' intelligence; he has called them “some of the dumbest people I’ve ever met in my life“ and has referred to them as “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 Miley.

Donald Trump’s Own Allies Believe He Is Too Dangerous to Lead the United States on the World Stage.

  • Terrified Members of His Own Administration. Criticisms of Trump’s foreign policy aren’t limited to his political opponents. His own allies, including several high-profile members of his first administration have come out in opposition to his leadership, arguing that Trump poses a unique threat to American national security. Trump’s Vice President, Chief of Staff, Secretary of State, Attorney General, UN Ambassador, two National Security Advisors, and two Defense Secretaries have questioned his basic fitness for office and refused to endorse him in 2024.

Published: March 2024

Updated: November 2024