So far, and largely in keeping with the
premise of his “America First” campaign, the Trump presidency has been focused
on domestic issues. Foreign policy has of course played a significant role—no
president can focus exclusively on one or the other—but apart from military
decisions in Syria (which Trump has for the most part outsourced to the Pentagon), crisis-management responses to the latest
provocations of North Korea, and some antagonistic dealings with NATO and the
G-7, domestic policy has been the centerpiece of the administration to this
point. Foreign dealings have focused on a direct relationship to core American
interests.
But I fully expect the administration to
take on a more active role in world affairs, for the simple reason that America
is still the most powerful nation and will inevitably be drawn into any major
international dispute. And in the most well-known international dispute in
modern times—the ongoing clashes between Israel and the Palestinians—expect
Trump to get personally involved and make a strong push for a successful
resolution. Contingent, as always, on domestic politics, I think Trump will be
unable to resist making an Israeli-Palestinian deal a major focal point of his
presidency.
For the man who campaigned on making
deals, the author of The Art of the Deal
who blasted “stupid politicians” making “bad deals”, the chance to solve the
centerpoint of so much violence in the Middle East will be nearly impossible to
resist. It would be the ultimate chance to prove himself on the world stage.
Whether anything would come of the
negotiations is a different matter entirely. U.S. presidents have been trying
for decades, with no permanent, satisfactory resolution to show for it. But,
again contingent on the realities of domestic politics, look for Trump to make
a significant push on the issue, perhaps after the midterms next year.
It is hard to imagine a man with the ego
and love of deal-making such as Trump, given the power and influence of the
office of the American Presidency, attempting anything less.
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