Generally Speaking, Advising Donald Trump on Foreign Policy and National Security Was Not a Pleasant Experience
For many officials who served him during his first term, advising Donald Trump on foreign policy and national security does not appear to have been a very pleasant experience. Numerous former Trump officials have described him variously as a threat to the Constitution, either "a fascist" or "not capable" of having an ideology as coherent as fascism, and "the most dangerous person ever."
The Trump Administration’s Foreign Policy Team
These criticisms, as much as they were played up by Kamala Harris, do not appear to have resonated with voters. Trump was arguably able to use them to his advantage, portraying himself as a "candidate of peace" who would push back against the hawkish foreign-policy establishment and extract the US from costly foreign entanglements like the war in Ukraine. While Trump’s repeated claims that there were "no wars" during his first term were misleading at best, the raging conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza that broke out during the Biden administration undoubtedly made it easier for Trump to make this case.
The Trump II Team
During his first term, Trump initially stacked his administration with former generals like H.R. McMaster and James Mattis — whom Trump loved to refer to by his nickname "Mad Dog," much to Mattis’s chagrin — as well as hawks like John Bolton. But he often clashed with them on issues ranging from keeping troops in Afghanistan or Syria to his unconventional courtship of North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. The presence of seasoned veterans like Mattis also reassured some of Trump’s critics, who hoped they would rein in his most erratic instincts. By the end of his first term, though, the president clearly felt he was being undermined.
The Trump II Team: A New Era of Unconventional Choices
Just two weeks after the election, it’s already clear that this time will be different. "None of the so-called ‘adults in the room’ from the first term survived," said Peter Feaver, a former national security staffer in the Bill Clinton and George W. Bush administrations, who now teaches at Duke University. Though there was some speculation immediately after the election that Trump might include figures like former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo or former national security adviser Robert O’Brien on his new team — the rare establishment figures from the first term who did not publicly break with Trump — the president-elect has largely opted for new faces this time around.
Conclusion
It’s still early days, and the Trump II team is still taking shape. As several experts told Vox, the department deputies who will eventually be selected can often be as important as the principals when it comes to actually designing and implementing foreign policy. The Trump administration we have on day one may not be the one we have six months later.
FAQs
Q: What kind of foreign policy team can we expect from the Trump II administration?
A: The Trump II team is expected to be more unconventional than its predecessor, with picks like Fox News host Pete Hegseth for secretary of defense and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence.
Q: Will the Trump II administration pursue a more aggressive foreign policy?
A: It’s unclear what Trump would do if Israel and Iran ended up in an all-out shooting war. Vance, for one, has said that despite US support for Israel, the two countries have diverging interests at times and that war with Iran would not be in American interests.
Q: What about Ukraine? Will the Trump II administration continue to support Ukraine against Russian aggression?
A: Trump will likely pursue his promised deal to end the war, presumably by pressuring Ukraine to accept territorial concessions. The question is what happens if Russian President Vladimir Putin, having realized recent success on the battlefield, doesn’t want to accept.
Q: Will the Trump II administration’s foreign policy team be stable?
A: It’s possible that some of the figures who were not selected for high jobs or foreign policy factions may reappear in the future. Trump went through two Senate-confirmed secretaries of state and four acting ones as well as four national security advisers during his first term.