President Trump unleashed a campaign of shock and awe in his first month on the job.
It was time to take Trump both seriously and literally.
And Donald Trump made one daring move that caught everyone off guard.
As West Wing Daily reports:
One of the most fascinating things about Donald Trump’s foreign policy strategy is that he throws America’s weight around on the world stage, but in a non-violent way.
For years, the neoconservative wing of the Republican Party was convinced that the only way America could lead globally is by invading, bombing, and occupying foreign countries.
Trump clearly disagrees with that, which has led to accusations levelled at him of promoting American “weakness” and “retreat.”
However, this is clearly not true when one pays attention to the moves that Trump is making on the world stage.
He is using economic rather than military power to get what he wants out of other countries, increasing America’s global influence without shedding anyone’s blood.
This is a major change of strategy for America, as the core assumption of political and military leaders for years was that there was no way to do that, but Trump is proving them wrong.
According to CNBC, “As the specter of Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs looms, several Asian economies that enjoy substantial trade surpluses with Washington are scrambling to negotiate favorable solutions with the U.S president to prevent being slapped with higher duties.
“Trump said Friday that he would announce reciprocal tariffs — duties that match those levied on U.S. goods by respective countries — as soon as Tuesday, to take effect immediately. Trump did not identify which countries will be hit but indicated it would be a broad effort to help eliminate U.S. trade deficits.”
Democrats warned that Trump’s administration would be an unmitigated disaster, but the early returns show that at least in some key areas, like foreign policy, he is succeeding.
And he is doing so in a way that doesn’t cost the lives of American troops or foreign civilians, which is a very nice change of pace.
The article continues, “Based on World Trade Organization estimates, most economies in Asia applied higher average tariffs on imports compared with the U.S. as of 2023. India led with a 17% simple average rate on countries with the most-favored-nation status, compared with the U.S. that levies 3.3%. The U.S. enjoys MFN status with most major economies, except Russia.
“China topped trade surplus with the U.S. last year at $295.4 billion, followed by Vietnam’s $123.5 billion, Taiwan’s $74 billion, Japan’s $68.5 billion and South Korea’s $66 billion, according to U.S. Census bureau.”
Trump is managing to slowly change that reality, and he is doing so in a way that everyone in the U.S. should be able to get behind.
Whatever one thinks of his domestic policy, it is almost impossible to argue at this point that his foreign policy has been very successful, dating back to his first term.
Americans should be proud that their position on the world stage is slowly recovering after taking a number of hits.