Could There Be a Peace of Trumphalia?

Why a very old-school foreign policy doctrine might actually work for the Trump administration.

The big question following Donald Trump's "victory" in the Electoral College (but not the popular vote) is this: Does he do what he said he would do during the campaign, or does he do what is smart? By "smart," I mean both what might be good for the country and also good for his own popularity and historical legacy. Given his massive ego, one suspects Trump does not want to go to his grave knowing he has wrested the title of "All-Time Worst U.S. President" from the likes of George W. Bush, Andrew Johnson, or James Buchanan.

Foreign policy may offer his most plausible path to validation. Trump's approach to foreign policy offers the promise of an improvement on what he will be inheriting. (Admittedly a low bar.) As I pointed out a few weeks ago, some of the things he said during the campaign are reasonable, such as his commonsense observation that key U.S. allies are free-riding, his recognition that open-ended "nation-building" exercises are foolish, and his belief that U.S. foreign policy should first and foremost serve the U.S. national interest....

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