How Donald Trump’s presidency redefines US foreign policy around himself

US President Donald Trump’s second term has been punctuated by blunt, sometimes shocking statements about foreign policy.

He regularly reduces global relations to a simple binary: who has been “nasty” and who has been “nice.”

Trump often appears to be driven not by national interests alone, but by the perceived slights he references. And even on a global scale, his attitudes reflect a fixation on a single subject: himself.

As the president ruminates on the role the United States plays in the world, diplomatic details are less important than Trump’s own influence.

He even raises impossible-to-prove counterfactuals, saying the 2022 start of the war in Ukraine and the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel would not have happened if he had been president.

It is difficult to predict what the remainder of Trump’s term will mean for the world, but one thing is certain: It will always, somehow, be about him.

Trump criticises traditional US allies in outspoken terms.

“People don’t realise Canada is very nasty to deal with.”

France: “Whether purposely or not, Emmanuel always gets it wrong.”

“I lost a lot of respect for Norway.”

“Spain is doing very well off our backs. So I’m not happy with Spain.”

Strongman leaders, by contrast, tend to get a warmer reception.

“We get along great with China; I have a great relationship with President Xi.”

“I would like to thank the great and powerful country of Indonesia, and its wonderful leader, for all of the help they have shown and given to the Middle East, and to the U.S.A.”

North Korea: “Kim Jong Un and I had a very good relationship, as you remember, and still do.”

Hungary: “I stick up for Viktor Orban. Not a lot of people do, because in many cases, they’re jealous.”

“Saudi Arabia is great. We have a great leader and a friend of mine and a friend of a lot of people — also an enemy of some people, but those people aren’t doing so well.”

Turkey: “Erdogan is a friend of mine. Whenever they have a problem with Erdogan, they ask me to call, because they can’t speak to him. He’s a tough cookie. I actually like him a lot.”

Trump says that the United States is ‘respected again,’ thanks to his presidency.

“I will tell you, Iraq has been a much friendlier place. They talk to us.”

“But when I went to the Netherlands, and I looked, everybody was coming up, ‘Mr. President, Mr. President.’ They didn’t do that a year ago or two years ago or three years ago. These are the big countries. This is Germany and France and all of them, I mean, a big group of countries. They respect America again.”

“The only Nation that China and Russia fear and respect is the DJT REBUILT U.S.A.”

“I just got back from Asia where I met the Leaders of many Countries, including China, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and others. It was a Great Honor to meet them but, more particularly, to see that America is respected again — RESPECTED LIKE NEVER BEFORE!”

He boasts that his endorsements have swung foreign elections.

“I endorsed, as you know, the winning president, the man who won in Honduras. I endorsed the man who won in Chile. I endorsed the man who won in Argentina, and we are doing very well with that whole group.”

Poland: “The man who won the election, who’s fantastic, was not expected to even come close. He was one of many people running, and through a friend of his and a friend of mine, a mutual friend, I endorsed him and he won the election.”

He says he has personally ‘settled’ or ended at least eight wars, in some cases a notable exaggeration.

“Such an honour to have helped settle the War with Azerbaijan and Armenia.”

“Representatives from Rwanda and the Congo will be in Washington on Monday to sign Documents. This is a Great Day for Africa and, quite frankly, a Great Day for the World!”

“Just spoke to the Acting Prime Minister of Thailand and Prime Minister of Cambodia. I am pleased to announce that, after the involvement of President Donald J. Trump, both Countries have reached a CEASEFIRE and PEACE.”

He frequently brings up the conflicts he has ‘settled’ in the context of his desired reward.

“And I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize for doing the Abraham Accords in the Middle East.”

“I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize for keeping Peace between Egypt and Ethiopia.”

“I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize for stopping the War between India and Pakistan.”

“No, I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize no matter what I do, including Russia/Ukraine, and Israel/Iran, whatever those outcomes may be, but the people know, and that’s all that matters to me!”

“I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize for stopping the War between Serbia and Kosovo.”

He makes offensive references to countries whose immigrants he does not want in the United States.

“I’ve also announced a permanent pause on Third World migration, including from hellholes like Afghanistan, Haiti, Somalia and many other countries.”

“I don’t know what it is with the Congo. They open their jails and they walk into our country.”

He asks why people from ‘nice’ — predominantly white — countries don’t send immigrants to the United States.

“Why can’t we have some people from Norway, Sweden — just a few — let us have a few from Denmark. Do you mind sending us a few people? Send us some nice people, do you mind?”

His view of other nations often seems to hinge on how they handle immigration.

“France which is, sadly, in the midst of a major crime problem because of their absolutely horrendous handling of immigration.”

“Germany was crime-free, and Angela made two big mistakes, immigration and energy.”

Hungary: “He has not made a mistake on immigration.”

“Poland doesn’t take people in. There are some countries that just refuse to do it.”

“I love the people of Sweden. But they go from a crime-free country to a country that has a lot of crime now.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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