During a
chaotic four-year first term, United States President Donald Trump has
radically transformed the country’s foreign policy by insulting allies, cozying
up to autocratic rulers and disregarding international agreements.

Trump has
always stressed on “America First”, his campaign slogan from 2016 which reflect
promises of curbing immigration, tackling China’s emerging dominance, pulling
out of “endless wars” and work out new trade deals which he thought “hurt” US
workers, according to an AFP report.  

Also Read: Early voting to winner: All US presidential elections questions answered

Colin Dueck, a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise
Institute and author of “Age of Iron: On Conservative Nationalism,” noted that
Trump’s views on some of those issues have been pretty consistent.

“I think
there is a kind of Trump Doctrine, even though it obviously doesn’t fit the
usual DC pattern at all,” he said.

Dueck
stated that along with prioritising the US’ commercial interests, Trump has always
downplayed the need for military deployments, at least when not appearing
alongside defence personnel, most recently, Trump has promising to expedite the
US army’s exit from Afghanistan.

Having bragged
about his negotiation skills for decades during his time as a real estate
tycoon, Trump has shown an affliction for engaging both friend and foe, posting
tweets both stinging in nature and overly flattering.

The rhetoric
is best portrayed in his engagement with North Korean dictator Kim Jong un, whom
he first mocked as “Little Rocket Man” then, a year later, said he “fell in
love with”.

Dueck noted
that Trump would be open to negotiation with almost anybody, with the exception
of ISIS.

“The
up-and-down ladder of escalation is characteristic,” he said.

Even though
he is not a noted student of history, Trump seems to be reviving the US’
pre-Cold War approach to the world, Dueck noted.

Also Read: Donald Trump and the strongmen: How the US President fell for autocrats

Nearly a century ago, leaders of
Trump’s Republican Party had a similar “America First” approach to the world,
curbing immigration, overlooking a growing League of Nations and prioritising economic
goals above all else.

“The US as an independent actor, not thinking of
multilateral commitments of having primary importance, and just looking at the
world from the point of view of does this serve American interests narrowly
defined… it was a dominant strain of American foreign policy for generations
prior to World War II,” Dueck said.

Lagging behind his
Democratic opponent Joe Biden in the polls, Trump has highlighted on a number of international
wins in recent months following after underwhelming earlier in his term.

The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, in September, agreed
to recognise Israel, representing a major coup for the Jewish state, as both Arab nations in the Gulf and Israel rally behind
Trump’s onslaught against Iran.

The US have
also sued for peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghanistan government,
albeit with little success, and the administration’s attempt to coax nations
against China’s 5G internet has also slowly gathered steam.

However,
relations with Europe are in dire straits, as nations reject Trump’s harsh
approach and neglect for international diplomacy, most prominently, the Paris
climate accord at a time when global temperatures soar above danger marks.

Iran has
also ramped up its nuclear mission and flexed muscles around the region despite
the crippling effects on its economy by Trump’s unilaterally imposed sanctions.

Also Read: Donald Trump’s order that restricts visas of foreign workers costs $100 billion: Report

A Pew
survey had found that other wealthy nations’ views on the United States had
plummeted recently, mostly due to doubts over Trump’s leadership, especially
over his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thomas
Wright, a senior fellow at the Brooklyn Institution, was of the view that Trump
scarcely had any real achievements and his foreign policy largely flirted with catastrophe.

He said
that the Gulf Arabs had started warming up to Israel almost a decade ago, while
the animosity towards China is a bipartisan consensus in Washington.

He said,
however, that for the first time, Trump has raised questions on the US’
commitment to the NATO alliance while also aggravating the impact of the COVID-19
pandemic.

“I think
there’s uncertainty about America’s role in the world that wasn’t there before.
With a combination of Trump and COVID, we don’t really know if we’re ever going
to go back to sort of a more open global economy,” Wright said.

Also Read: Truth behind claims made by Donald Trump, Joe Biden in final presidential debate

Even if he
loses the election, Trump’s term would likely leave a long-lasting impact on the US and the world. He has smashed the Republican consensus, unflinching
in the party during George W Bush’ presidency, on vigorous military action, unabated
free trade and modest immigration and democratic values abroad.

“Trump couldn’t
have won on his own. He needed millions of people to nod their heads and say,
actually, yeah, why are we continuing to operate on autopilot?” Dueck said.