Will Donald Trump’s reelection positively shape foreign affairs, or will it take a turn for the worse? Donald Trump served his first term as the United States president in 2016 and has just been reelected for his next four-year term. After his election victory, he must enter a two-month transition period as president-elect before going into office on Jan. 20. Once he returns to the office, his focus will shift to all the significant changes he will make that will impact the world.
When Trump won the 2016 election, he implemented an “America First” policy. An “America First” approach to foreign affairs means that the president has a belief that the United States can effectively lead globally and maintain peace and stability by prioritizing the overall well-being of its citizens. Trump plans to continue this policy in his next four-year term, and with his sweeping changes, there could be serious consequences.
During his campaign, Trump made many promises to address ongoing crises. For example, according to NPR, Trump repeatedly said he could end the war between Russia and Ukraine “in a day.” He denies providing any specifics on how he plans on doing so and has left people pondering on what he truly meant by that statement. Trump has a strong stand on who he supports in this war, “Trump has blamed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, not Putin, for starting the war.”
Despite this, the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, congratulated Trump on his victory, hoping to establish peace in their relationship. However, even with his support for Russia, the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, did not immediately congratulate him on his victory. Both Ukraine and Russia face an uncertain future with Trump’s victory.
As far as the Middle East, Trump has assured that he will bring peace into the war between Hamas and Israel. Trump believes that if it were him in Joe Biden’s position, the war would have never happened because he would have prevented it by using the “maximum pressure” policy that was implemented during his first-year term on Iran, since it is the country that funds the group. He plans to bring this policy back, in support of Israel, so he could end the war.
According to the BBC, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, called Trump the “best friend that Israel has ever had in the White House.” However, President Trump has many strong connections with leaders in the Middle East, like Saudi Arabia. According to Boston University, “Trump’s courting of Saudi Arabia has intensified since 2017 when the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was the first foreign leader he visited as president.” Considering this, it is uncertain how he will navigate this conflict since he wants to show strong support for Israel while also trying to maintain peace. “Trump has to walk a fine line and create a balance between the Likud party and Hamas, and that’s going to be quite an effort,” Richard Joyner said, an AP comparative government teacher at Patriot High School.
Another country that faces an uncertain future is Mexico. Although Mexico is the United States’ leading partner, Donald Trump has made Mexico a country he strongly targets in his campaigns. According to NPR, during Trump’s first term, he threatened to close the border if Mexico didn’t implement stronger rules for the process of immigration into the U.S., and just a few weeks ago he mentioned the same topic. “If they don’t stop this onslaught of criminals and drugs coming into our country, I’m going to immediately impose a 25% tariff on everything they send into the United States of America,” Trump said at a rally during the week of November sixth, before his victory.
According to Reuters, one of Trump’s campaign promises was to include 200% tariffs on cars coming from Mexico, mass deportations, and U.S. military action against drug cartels. His continuing promises against Mexico have put the President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, in a difficult position. However, Sheinbaum believes that Mexico has some leverage that could help “dilute some of Trump’s pledges in areas such as trade and security.”
Claudia Sheinbaum is convinced that the U.S. and Mexico will have a good relationship by the end of Trump’s 4-year term. Mexico’s relationship with the U.S. still stands uncertain due to problems Trump may have against Mexico.
The effect of Donald Trump’s reelection on foreign affairs remains uncertain. Ultimately, the world has no choice but to watch Trump’s policies unfold. For people across the world, the answers Trump provides will shape the next four years of international affairs.
