The surprising similarities of Trump and Obama on foreign policy
Donald Trump calls his foreign policy 'America first.' But in important ways, it's just an amplification of Obama's 'lead from behind.'
President Barack Obama walks with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras into the Maximos Mansion for their joint meeting and news conference in Athens Tuesday.
Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP
Barack Obama undertakes his last overseas trip as president this week with an adjusted mission in the wake of Donald Trump鈥檚 victory: to reassure allies and partners about continuing support for them and America鈥檚 unwavering global leadership.
But in some ways Mr. Obama provided the dress rehearsal to what many expect to be Mr. Trump鈥檚 more nationalist, America-first, and less interventionist foreign policy.
Obama is the president who labeled the United States鈥� NATO allies 鈥渇ree riders,鈥� who focused on getting the US out of George W. Bush鈥檚 Middle East wars while staying out of new ones, and who honed an offshore counterterrorism warfare that avoids placing American boots on the ground.
鈥淥ne of the most under-reported stories of the campaign has been the similarities in the worldviews of President Obama and Donald Trump, so I don鈥檛 think Obama can provide much reassurance to America鈥檚 partners,鈥� says Danielle Pletka, vice president for foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington.
鈥淏roadly, Obama and Trump have said the same things 鈥� they鈥檙e both of the view that the United States shouldn鈥檛 be out there, they both have said pretty much the same thing about the Europeans being free riders,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd they鈥檝e both offered up this sense that, 鈥業 can manage the Russians, I can certainly manage our allies 鈥� and if I can鈥檛, they don鈥檛 matter anyway.鈥� 鈥�
That confluence of thinking does not mean Obama and Trump see eye-to-eye on every key foreign-policy issue. Trump threatens to tear up Obama鈥檚 signature Iran nuclear deal, while suggesting he can live with Syria鈥檚 Bashar al-Assad 鈥� a leader Obama has said 鈥渕ust go.鈥� But Trump鈥檚 administration could lead some foreign leaders to wonder if they鈥檙e just getting a starker form of a retreating America.
Some foreign-policy experts underscore the value of having the outgoing president deliver reassurances about America鈥檚 stability and commitment to international partners 鈥� even if they question just how comforting those words can be coming from Obama.
鈥淭here鈥檚 certainly a usefulness in having the president offer reassurances, but there鈥檚 also a paradox in that in many ways Obama has not been all that reassuring to our allies,鈥� says Robert Lieber, a professor of government and international affairs at Georgetown University. 鈥淪ince coming into office he鈥檚 put a lot of distance between us and our principal allies in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.鈥�
Obama's new role
In the run-up to Obama鈥檚 six-day trip to Greece and Germany, and then Peru to meet with Asian-Pacific leaders, White House officials have said one of the president鈥檚 goals will be to calm allies鈥� nerves.
Obama, whose trip begins Tuesday in Athens, can report on his 90-minute White House meeting with the president-elect, which he described as 鈥渆xcellent.鈥� He can also cite Trump鈥檚 own words of reassurance to US allies.
鈥淚 want to tell the world community that while we will always put America鈥檚 interests first, we will deal fairly with everyone,鈥� Trump said in his brief victory speech Nov. 9. 鈥淲e will seek common ground, not hostility; partnership, not conflict.鈥�
In a pre-trip press conference Monday, Obama expressed his confidence that the US will maintain its strong commitment to the NATO alliance, noting that Trump had assured him of his 鈥済reat interest in maintaining our core strategic relationships.鈥澛犅犅犅�
All this can help calm allies, particularly in Europe, who are shrieking, 鈥淲hat has happened to America?鈥� Dr. Lieber says.
鈥淪ome of our allies, especially in Europe, are going nuts. They think it鈥檚 the end of the world as we know it, and it鈥檚 not,鈥� says Lieber, author of the recent book 鈥淩etreat and its Consequences: American Foreign Policy and the Problem of World Order.鈥� 鈥淏ut in that context, I think Obama can relieve the hysteria by underscoring the continuity of our institutions and the hardiness and stability of our democratic process.鈥�
Where Obama won鈥檛 be able to offer any soothing balm is over Trump鈥檚 way forward with a Russia that is increasingly belligerent toward Europe; Trump offered praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin during the campaign.
The Russia/China question
Nor will the president be able to smooth ruffled feathers over the US retreat from its traditional role as chief promoter of global free trade.
Obama will take up the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal with APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation) leaders in Peru. But most analysts say Obama will foretell the trade pact鈥檚 likely demise if he鈥檚 honest.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to see a future for TPP, and that鈥檚 unfortunate,鈥� says Lieber. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a loss for us and our allies, and [that loss] strengthens China and its allies.鈥�
Given Trump鈥檚 stated admiration for authoritarian leaders, some Europeans fear the new US president will cast traditional European allies aside and cozy up to Mr. Putin and even to China鈥檚 Xi Jinping.
Trump spoke by phone with both Putin and Mr. Xi this week. In a statement Monday, the Chinese government said that 鈥淧resident-elect Trump stated that he believes the two leaders will have one of the strongest relationships for both countries moving forward.鈥� Those words were notably brighter than Trump鈥檚 frequent campaign attacks on China鈥檚 trade and currency practices.
Reassurance is a two-way street
Amid such uncertainty about America鈥檚 relations with the world, some are noting that offering reassurances is a two-way street, and they are calling on European leaders in particular to offer evidence of the importance of the trans-Atlantic relationship.
鈥淭he most meaningful message Europe can send Trump is a simple one: a guarantee to increase defense spending to the 2 percent level required by NATO,鈥� said Alan Mendoza, executive director of The Henry Jackson Society, a British think tank promoting a robust US foreign policy based on strength and Western principles, in a statement.
Others say the uncertainty about Trump鈥檚 foreign policy will continue at least until Trump names his top foreign-policy and national security advisers.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think he鈥檚 entirely committed to anything, so it鈥檚 hard to know whether he鈥檚 going to go farther with some of these ideas and carry them out or not,鈥� says Ms. Pletka. 鈥淚t will be hard to know until we see who gets appointed to these top [foreign policy] jobs, but even then it will take a while.鈥�