ARE WE HEADED FOR "WTOBIO WIR TRUMP"? "... The U.S. must redirect its foreign and defense policies away from the ideology of global 'America First' hegemony and toward 'patient, thoroughly engaged diplomacy'....".

• Author: Fischer, Raymond L.
• Position: THE WORLD TODAY

AUTHOR, coauthor, or editor of 12 books about global politics, international relations specialist Hall Gardner wrote World War Trump: The Risks of America's New Nationalism to expose how Pres. Donald Trump's "America First" policies could imperil international stability. With a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University's Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Gardner has chaired the Department of International and Comparative Politics at the American University of Paris since 1992. Living amid European thought, culture, and politics, Gardner has a different perspective from which to examine the Trump Administration. Europeans question "Make America Great Again"--"has not America always been a great nation?"

In analyzing the morass of Trump's foreign-policy pronouncements from campaign beginning to the present, Gardner warns of "unintended and perilous consequences." The President's "America First" nationalism; frequent unreasoned contradictions in foreign policy; spontaneous, often incoherent tweets; and willingness to use military force have generated national and international distrust and uncertainty. Both enemies and allies "assume worst-case scenarios." In his Sept. 19, 2017, address to the United Nations General Assembly, Trump missed an opportunity to diffuse a "truly critical state of affairs" when he failed to propose multilateral negotiations with Russia and China--nations currently inclined toward a hostile alliance--and European countries.

During his presidential campaign, Trump promised to "make a deal" with Russia's Vladimir Putin; however, his contradictory foreign policy proposals and the investigation into his alleged collusion with Russia could undermine this campaign promise. In flip-flops from campaign rhetoric, Trump threatened his sycophantic approach to Putin when he began a conventional and nuclear arms buildup; signed into law "Countering America's Adversaries through Sanctions Act," placing sanctions on Russia for annexing Crimea in 2014; supported Saudi Arabia against Iran; and approved the 2016 Polish-Croatian "Three Seas Initiative," which would allow the U.S. to compete with Russia in supplying energy to Ukraine and Europe.

After declaring NATO "obsolete" in many speeches and tweets, Trump eventually indicated strong support for NATO with the caveat that other members contribute two percent of their gross domestic product on defense. At first, Trump showed disinterest in whether Ukraine joined NATO; later, under "congressional pressure," he considered military help for Kiev. Likewise, Trump's...