Foreign policy of the second Trump administration
The foreign policy of the second Donald Trump administration has been described as imperialist and expansionist in its approach to the Americas,[1][2][3] and isolationist in its approach to Europe, espousing a realist "America First" foreign policy agenda.[4] It has been characterized as a 'hardline' version of the Monroe Doctrine,[5] and likened to the foreign policy of former president William McKinley.[6][7][8] Trump's administration was described as breaking the post-1945 rules-based liberal international order and abandoning multilateralism.[9][4][10] He dismantled or withdrew support from domestic and international organizations dedicated to promoting American soft power,[11] instead favoring hard power.[12] The moves were described as ceding American global influence and creating a void filled by Russia and China.[13] Trump's relations with U.S. allies have been transactional and ranged from indifference to hostility, while he has sought friendlier relations with certain U.S. adversaries.[14][15] The actions saw large drops in global public opinion of America.[16] Trump started a trade war with Canada and Mexico and continued the ongoing trade war with China. He has repeatedly expressed his desire to annex Canada, Greenland, and the Panama Canal. He has taken a hardline pro-Israel stance. In response to the Gaza war, he proposed taking over the Gaza Strip, forcibly relocating the Palestinian population to other Arab states, and making Gaza into a special economic zone.[17] In June 2025, he authorized strikes against Iranian nuclear sites. Trump has sought realignment with Vladimir Putin's Russia, a longtime adversary of the U.S.[14][15][18] To end the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Trump's administration offered concessions to Russia; it also said that Ukraine bore partial responsibility for the invasion. These moves have been criticized by most of the United States' allies and by many international organizations. AppointmentsTrump's 2025 foreign policy team
Analysis
A 2025 Pew Research Center study found that more than half in 19 of 24 countries surveyed, said they lack confidence in Trump’s leadership of world affairs, with views about Trump differing sharply along ideological and partisan lines.[19] Among 24 surveyed countries, Trump's 2025 ratings trailed those of Joe Biden's 2024 ratings by an average of twelve percentage points in world affairs, though Trump fared better among right-wing populist parties in Europe.[20] Trump's foreign policy was described as ignoring protocol and shunning experts in favor of personally loyal and inexperinced envoys to solve problems with "common sense and hard-nosed savvy". Trump's longtime friend and New York real estate developer, Steven Witkoff, was given multiple high-stakes tasks as Trump's special envoy. Witkoff stated his inexperience was an asset that gave him fresh eyes on world conflicts, and Trump's allies derided career diplomatic, military and intelligence officers who they claimed lacked the boldness and savvy of private-sector businessmen. The New York Times described Trump as confusing flattery from world leaders as indicitive of their willingness to compromise their national interests.[21] Trump favored blunt-force and strong-arm tactics with allies and adversaries to achieve his foreign policy goals, favoring hard power and dispensing with traditional American diplomatic tools.[12] His administration dismantled or withdrew support from domestic and international organizations dedicated to advancing American soft power.[11][22] Trump's decision to rename the United States Department of Defense to the "Department of War" was evidenced as indicative of the administration's dim view of diplomacy and playing into foreign propaganda describing America as an aggressive power.[23] Foreign policy experts described the moves to shutter USAID, Voice of America, and other organizations promoting American influence as diminishing America's global influence and creating a void that was filled by China and Russia.[13] His administration saw large drops in global public opinion of the United States.[16] In September 2025, Pentagon leadership unveiled a draft of the National Defense Strategy which prioritized domestic and regional missions rather than combating Russia and China in a dramatic shift from prior plans.[24] The administration is generally opposed to international cooperation on areas such as the environment, global health, or the economy, which it views as against the national interest; it seeks to reduce or end foreign aid, and to change relationships and policies accordingly.[25][26] AfricaDemocratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda.jpg) Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the Rwandan–backed Goma offensive in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, affirming that the U.S. supports the Congolese sovereignty in a phone call with DRC President Félix Tshisekedi.[27] Rubio called for an immediate ceasefire on January 28, 2025, after a phone conversation with Rwanda President Paul Kagame, and for all parties to respect sovereign territorial integrity.[28] In late June 2025, Rubio and the Qatari government helped broker a peace agreement between the DRC and Rwanda in an effort to end fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. DRC President Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Kagame signed the peace agreement at the White House on June 27. As part of the agreement, Rwandan forces would withdraw within 90 days and the Rwandan and DRC governments would launch a regional economic integration framework within 90 days. The peace agreement also called for respecting territorial integrity and the disarmament of all non-state actors including the Rwandan-backed March 23 Movement and the Hutu-dominated Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). In addition, the peace agreement included provisions for US investment in the DRC's mineral sector.[29][30] The Congo River Alliance and M23 did not participate in the White House peace agreement, preferring to wait the outcome of Qatari-brokered peace talks in Doha.[29][30] On June 20, President Trump expressed support for the DRC-Rwandan peace talks, stating on Truth Social that: "This is a Great Day for Africa and, quite frankly, a Great Day for the World!...”[30] By contrast, Congolese human rights activist and Nobel laureate Denis Mukwege and former DRC President Joseph Kabila criticised the peace agreement as disadvantageous to Congolese interests.[30][31] EswatiniIn mid July 2025, the Eswatini government agreed to accept the deportation of five deportees from Jamaica, Laos, Cuba, Yemen and Vietnam, whose home countries had refused to repatriate them. According to Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, these prisoners had been convicted of serious crimes including various child rape, murder and robbery. Eswatini acting government spokesperson Thabile Mdluli said that his government would collaborate with the United States and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to ensure that the five deportees were repatriated to their countries of origin. The five detainees were held in solitary confinement by Eswatini authorities.[32][33] Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar criticized the United States for using tariffs and the tightening of visas to exert pressure on African states to accept foreign deportees including Venezuelans who had been deported from the US. In response, the United States Mission in Nigeria said that US visa policy changes were not result of any nation's stance on third-country origins but were motivated by a desire to safeguard US immigration systems. [34] LesothoDuring his speech to a joint session of Congress in March 2025, Trump said that the United States had previously spent $8 million "to promote LGBTQI+ in the African nation of Lesotho, which nobody has ever heard of." Lesotho criticized the remarks, calling them "quite insulting."[35] South Africa.jpg) On February 6, 2025, Rubio announced that he would not attend the G20 summit in Johannesburg, citing South Africa's "controversial land expropriation law" as one of his reas | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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