Trump’s National-Security Report Card
D-Day is coming, and Donald Trump is headed to Europe. The 75th anniversary of the Allied landing on Normandy, which marked the “beginning of the end” for the Nazis in Europe, could be a celebration of the transatlantic alliance that ended World War II and then rebuilt the Western world. And yet, Trump has mounted one challenge after another to the very idea of alliances, to say nothing of the international system embraced by Democratic and Republican presidents alike for decades. The disruption extends far beyond the West. From Iran to North Korea, Trump says “America first” is what guides his policies; he boasted at a recent rally that “America is winning again and America is being respected again.” So how’s he doing?
We graded Trump based on what he’s said he wants to achieve with each of his top national-security initiatives, two and a half years into his administration.
[Read: The brilliant incoherence of Trump’s foreign policy]
China
Trump’s various moves against China, from the ongoing trade war to efforts to block the Chinese tech giant Huawei’s rapid expansion, have sparked much debate. But the Trump administration’s relentless and combative focus on China has succeeded in
