5/21/2023 0 Comments Margaret macmillan 1919Yet there is another, quite different, and equally long-standing view: that the United States, with its enormous privileges and wealth, has an obligation to set the rest of the world straight. Such isolationism has been a recurring force in shaping American foreign relations. When Donald Trump talks about “putting America first” he echoes a deeply ingrained attitude in American foreign policy dating back to the Revolution: that the United States should look to itself and be wary of entanglements with the world beyond. This isn’t the first time the United States has taken such a stern line. And he abruptly replaced Secretary of State Rex Tillerson with the more hawkish Mike Pompeo. He traveled to the California-Mexico border to view a border-wall prototype. What does the United States want to be to the world? And what would the world like? A welcoming beacon of democracy? A partner in trade and security? A wary, but distant ally? Or a fortress that has pulled up its drawbridge?įor America’s allies and foes alike, the messaging of the last week has been unequivocally the latter: President Trump announced punishing steel and aluminum tariffs.
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