US foreign policy has previously zigged and zagged from isolation to imperialism. Woodrow Wilson entered the first world war with the the goal of “making the world safe for democracy”. Washington retreated from the world again during the 1920s and 1930s only to fight the second world war and emerge as a military and economic superpower.
Foreign policy during the cold war centered on countering the Soviet Union through alliances, military interventions and proxy wars. The 11 September 2001 attacks shifted focus to counterterrorism, leading to wars in Afghanistan and Iraq under George W Bush with justifications that included spreading democracy.
Barack Obama emphasized diplomacy and reducing troop commitments, though drone strikes and counterterrorism operations persisted. Trump’s first term pushed economic nationalism, pressuring allies to pay their way. Joe Biden restored multilateralism, focusing on climate, alliances and countering China’s influence.
As in many other political arenas, Trump’s second term is bolder and louder on the world stage.
Trump and Vance have sought to portray the “America first” policy as a clean break from the recent past. Human rights, democracy, foreign aid and military intervention are out. Economic deals, regional stability and pragmatic self-interest are in.
And that’s why the brunch liberals hate him. Not because they’re particularly against tax cuts for the rich and warmongering. Cutting safety nets for the poor. Stuff like that.
Let’s not pretend this is normal for the US to pull a complete 180 on all our allies overnight, at the whole of a fucking moron who thinks he can bully others into giving him what he wants, only to realize that he caused all this chaos for nothing. Just because we were fairly isolationist 150 years ago before the US was globally relevant
Pulling 180s on allies is what the US is known for. Have you not learned from the Kurds?
