U.S. President Donald Trump’s foreign policy approach has been described in multiple, often contradictory, ways. It has been characterized as everything from isolationist to neo-imperialist, and from unpredictable to transactional.
In a January interview with The New York Times, he declared that the only limit to his authority was “his own morality”, essentially stating that he could do whatever he wanted, wherever he wanted.
However, these are just facades constructed by the President and his team to try to gain an edge on the international stage. In reality, Trump displays aggression but is immensely afraid of risk, and his vaunted unpredictability is often formulaic.
The recent string of international crises for the Trump administration, often instigated by the President himself, shows this dichotomy.
Over planning
The first myth of Trump’s foreign policy is the idea that he is willing to take immense risks and push the bounds of what is acceptable.
Trump sought to project this “aggressive and unpredictable” foreign policy style with the U.S. operation that successfully kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The move caused shock among the U.S. public and throughout the international community, and members of the administration, such as Homeland Security adviser Stephen Miller, used the event to threaten other Latam leaders as well as global allies.
