CNN
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For a leader who campaigned on the “America First” promise with deep isolationist tensions, President Donald Trump’s first major international trip to his second term has emerged as more globalist, showing that he could be broken from the foreign policy doctrine of his first term.
At least when it suits him.
He has already spent his first few months actively changing the role of the US in the world, and this week’s four-day trip to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates underscores that he dramatically rethinks his traditional alliance and inserts it into global conflicts.
His decision to end sanctions in Syria and become the first US president to meet Syrian leaders in 25 years shows elements of risk and involvement that do not fit neatly into the perspectives of some of his most enthusiastic conservative allies, rather than a part of Magaco. While behind the closed door, he may remember his meeting with interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa for creating the most important moments of his journey.
During the trip, Trump hinted at a leading role in easing the rapidly rising tensions in India and Pakistan. He suggested that Iran’s nuclear talks could take a “violent course” if Tehran does not respond appropriately to “friendly” negotiations with US officials. He said Russian President Vladimir Putin would only engage in peace talks if Trump is personally involved. He then spoke about the US establishing a “free zone” in war-torn Gaza.
“My priority is not to end the conflict, but to end the conflict,” Trump told the military on Thursday at Al Udeid Air Force Base. “But if I need American power, I will never hesitate to protect the United States and our partners.”
Trump has barely turned new leaves, but a few moments along the way suggested contradictory views from his first semester. The same president, who issued a controversial travel ban to seven Muslim countries in 2017, visited Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque on Thursday. This week, the same president who blew up Qatar for its ties to terrorism accepted the country’s chief.
The change shows that he is trying to move away from the typical GOP and MAGA positions, as it shows that Republicans in Congress and elsewhere are repeatedly reluctant to criticize party leaders. Emphasizing that point, top Democrats praised the meeting with the interim Syrian president and general treatment of travel.
“I don’t have the habit of praiseing Donald Trump,” House Intelligence Committee ranking member Jim Himez said in a conversation with Politico on Thursday.
Himes said he entered the week with concerns about the Iranian threat, Syria’s new leadership opportunities and the conflict in Gaza. By the end of the week, Himes said he thought Trump “played the Middle East quite well.”
At each stop along the way, the president presented himself equally as a deal maker and a piece maker. In both cases, trade. Still, he embraces a more globalist attitude, but many of his lofty foreign policy goals soon hit a more difficult reality.
“I have a concept of Gaza that I think is very good. Let’s make it a free zone, let the US participate, just a free zone,” Trump told business leaders at the Doha roundtable on Thursday.
That vision, although always unlikely, seemed even more out of reach as nearly 70 people were killed in the latest wave of an overnight Israeli strike at a Palestinian enclave. Trump has yet to show how much pressure he is putting on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom he didn’t visit this week.
Although Iran’s nuclear deal has also proven elusive, Trump appeared to show that progress was made after four rounds of talks between special envoy Steve Witkov and Iranian officials. Trump said Thursday they were “very close,” suggesting Iran has “a kind of agreement” on terms.
And while Trump has repeatedly stated this week that Iran cannot have nuclear weapons, warning of violent consequences if he does, those comments have been filled with the rage of Iranian President Masuud Pezeshkian, who thought he would come to our area and threaten us and hope we will return against his demands.
Similarly, Trump frequently pushed Russia and Ukraine to engage in peace talks in Türkiye on Thursday. But when it became clear that Putin would not go personally, Trump’s tone changed.
“He was going, but he thought I was going. He didn’t go if I wasn’t there and I don’t think anything will happen, whether you like it or not,” Trump said early Thursday.
What is particularly lacking in Trump’s numerous public meditations was his focus on human rights. This is a theme that frequently clashes when his modern predecessor visits the area. This topic is not expected to appear publicly before the trip, and Trump praises his host.
During the trip, Trump was deeply immersed in the friendship of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, and waved repeatedly. This was a major issue that struck a great deal of light when former President Joe Biden visited the country in 2022 due to its impact on certain human rights.
MBS was directly linked in 2018 by the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Kashoggi in Istanbul and the intelligence news community in the US. The report reported that it had “approved” the operation that led to Khashog’s death. When Biden met with the Crown Prince, he was looked at carefully to see if he would wave MBS. Instead, Biden offered to raise his fist. This was criticised by fellow Democrats as being overly familiar.
However, Trump assumed that Biden was not friendly enough to Saudi Arabia and other Arab allies.
“They were hungry for love because our country didn’t give them any love. … He travels all the way to Saudi Arabia and gives him the case a fist bump. That’s not what they want. They don’t want a fist bump.
One thing is clear. Trump has set his foreign policy and believes it revolves around him. It was explained repeatedly by his emphasis on Ukraine-Russia speeches, Iran’s nuclear deal and his role in suspending the India-Pakistan attacks. He states the latter:
Meanwhile, the trip telegraphed a message to world leaders. Business transactions and investments in the US, as well as the dignity and circumstances created for television, can lead to positive outcomes.
Trump was a flattering day-to-day subject from his hosts with Arabian horses, Tesla Cybertouks cavalry and endless handshakes from the business elite around the world. The White House touted what it described as a “transformative deal protected in Saudi Arabia,” pointing to billions of dollars in investments in AI data centers, energy infrastructure and technology. In Doha, Trump highlighted a massive investment from Qatar for US-made Boeing planes, saying ahead of the trip, Trump plans to accept expensive luxury planes from Qatar officials.
Trump and his team have signed numerous agreements with both countries to strengthen intergovernmental cooperation on various defense and energy issues. And Trump’s existence in Qatar has made history. He was the first president to officially visit the state.