Picking fights with friends and appeasing enemies: President Trump’s Foreign Policy

Since taking office as President of the United States on January 20, Donald Trump has implemented an unprecedented foreign policy by picking fights with allies and appeasing enemies. So far, President Trump has clashed with Denmark over his demand to purchase Greenland, threatened a trade war with Canada, and blocked aid to the Kurds in northeastern Syria as part of his latest suspension of foreign assistance.

Military aid to Ukraine, Egypt and Israel has remained, but President Trump is pressuring Ukraine to capitulate to Russia by giving up territories it has lost, apart from giving up aspirations to join NATO. President Trump has also engaged in disputes with Mexico and Colombia over the repatriation flights of illegal migrants. Although Mexico and Colombia are currently governed by left-wing presidents, they are traditionally considered U.S. allies, with their respective populations holding favourable views toward the United States.

Meanwhile, President Trump has suspended a Supreme Court order that could have banned TikTok, seeking a way to keep the platform active in the United States. Under the previous US administration, Congress passed a bill with bipartisan support called “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act”. The bill intended to force TikTok to be sold to a US company on concerns that customers data was being used by the Chinese authorities. TikTok’s Chinese parent-company, ByteDance refused to sell the application and challenged the law via the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court upheld the law, but granted a loophole for the President to suspend a ban on the application for further negotiations. ByteDance indicated it preferred to shut down its application in the United States, rather than selling it to a US company.

During his presidential campaign, President Trump promised to introduce 60% tariffs on several Chinese imports. However, since his inauguration, he has made no demands on China and has focused more on trade issues with his immediate neighbors.