Donald Trump’s Confusion: Family & Foreign Policy Are One And The Same!
The most important question facing Americans today is no longer, “What is Donald Trump’s foreign policy?” It is, “Where does the Trump family business end and where does American foreign policy begin?” Increasingly, the answer appears to be nowhere.
There are no coincidences in foreign policy—only priorities.
Donald Trump could have chosen Canada for his first presidential trip abroad. He could have chosen Great Britain, America’s oldest ally. He could have chosen France, Germany, or even Israel. Instead, he broke with decades of American presidential tradition and chose Saudi Arabia. The message was unmistakable. Before America had fully learned what Trumpism meant, Saudi Arabia already knew. Donald Trump was coming to do what Donald Trump has always done—make deals. Saudi Arabia was not merely his first foreign destination; it was the opening chapter of a new American foreign policy—one in which transactional relationships would replace enduring principles.
Americans are entitled to ask difficult questions. Would Donald Trump be pursuing precisely the same policies if his family possessed absolutely no business relationships throughout the Gulf? Would Saudi Arabia occupy precisely the same privileged position in American foreign policy if billions of dollars were not simultaneously flowing through investments, developments, and strategic partnerships connected to members of the President’s family?
And now comes perhaps the most astonishing development of all—the willingness of the United States to provide Saudi Arabia with civilian nuclear technology and assist in the development of commercial nuclear reactors. Congress and nonproliferation experts have raised concerns that the agreement departs from previous American standards by permitting uranium enrichment under circumstances different from earlier “gold standard” agreements negotiated with allies. The implications are profound. Nuclear technology is not another hotel licensing agreement or golf course development. It represents one of the........
