Trump’s Mind: What No One Knows
The flight from Atlanta to Seoul takes over 15 hours. I heard that the flight time had increased as the recent Russian-Ukrainian conflict caused airplanes to avoid the Arctic route. At the Atlanta, Georgia airport, the busiest in the U.S., the boarding gate for Korea flights bustled with people returning there and foreign tourists looking forward to a new experience. It occurred to me that this must have been where the detained Korean workers had finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The atmosphere was different a few days ago when I boarded the flight to the United States to attend the Korea-United States Journalists Exchange program. There was a fuss when some reporters’ ESTAs* were suddenly canceled and then reapproved, and I couldn’t hide my anxiety at the immigration checkpoint, even with invitation in hand.
The recent raid and crackdown by U.S. immigration authorities on the Hyundai-LG Energy Solution joint battery plant in Georgia has sent shockwaves through both Washington and Atlanta. Government officials I met there privately expressed regret and unanimously agreed that this was something that should not have happened. Although they worried that this incident would negatively impact economic cooperation between South Korea and the United States, they seemed cautious about publicly criticizing the Donald Trump administration. The impression I got was that they wanted to avoid making statements that might offend the Trump administration and were themselves unable to grasp Trump’s true intentions.
No one knows Trump’s mind. This is what all the think tank experts that I’ve met here say. At the start of his term, as he formed a cabinet of hardliners, most predicted that he would increase the level of checks against China and pressure South Korea to join. However, experts I recently met with all seemed to agree that Trump’s foreign policy can change at any time depending on his personal political and economic interests and that he is a person who prioritizes his own gain above all else.
In response to the factory raid, President Trump initially took a firm stance, calling it a crackdown on illegal immigrants. However, he later backed down, saying, “Skilled foreign workers are welcome,” as concerns grew that the crackdown would adversely affect investment by foreign companies. This was similar to the past case of Chinese student visas, when he had initially pushed for strong measures before later changing his attitude.
When I visited a Republican Party branch in the metropolitan Atlanta area, local residents seemed largely unaware of the Korean workers who were detained, despite working mostly within legal procedures. On the contrary, they were fairly dissatisfied that the Hyundai plant had not increased the number of jobs as much as expected. Due to the nature of swing states, politicians also seemed to be more concerned about local public sentiment than about foreign affairs. One diplomat even suggested that Gov. Brian Kemp’s lack of support for President Trump in the last presidential election may have been a factor in his reluctance to speak out.
As time goes on, I get the impression that the top priority of the Trump administration is to shore up his base for the midterm elections rather than concentrate on foreign policy. Amid inflation and deepening polarization, anti-immigration policies have become a means to channel discontent toward specific groups. As the recent assassination of far-right influencer Charlie Kirk has attracted media attention elsewhere, the Georgia situation appears to be being quickly settled by staff workers. One reporter I met at the Journalist Exchange Program told me, “Trump’s strategy is to constantly stir up problems to scatter the media’s attention.”** If even the foreign policy of a nation is so unpredictable, how are other nations supposed to respond? It was a question that weighed heavily on the journey home.
*Editor’s note: ESTA stands for Electronic System for Travel Authorization, an automated system required for citizens of Visa Waiver Program countries to travel to the U.S. for tourism or business for stays of 90 days or less.
**Editor’s note: Although correctly translated, the quoted content could not be independently verified.
The atmosphere was different a few days ago when I boarded the flight to the United States to attend the Korea-United States Journalists Exchange program. There was a fuss when some reporters’ ESTAs* were suddenly canceled and then reapproved, and I couldn’t hide my anxiety at the immigration checkpoint, even with invitation in hand.
The recent raid and crackdown by U.S. immigration authorities on the Hyundai-LG Energy Solution joint battery plant in Georgia has sent shockwaves through both Washington and Atlanta. Government officials I met there privately expressed regret and unanimously agreed that this was something that should not have happened. Although they worried that this incident would negatively impact economic cooperation between South Korea and the United States, they seemed cautious about publicly criticizing the Donald Trump administration. The impression I got was that they wanted to avoid making statements that might offend the Trump administration and were themselves unable to grasp Trump’s true intentions.
No one knows Trump’s mind. This is what all the think tank experts that I’ve met here say. At the start of his term, as he formed a cabinet of hardliners, most predicted that he would increase the level of checks against China and pressure South Korea to join. However, experts I recently met with all seemed to agree that Trump’s foreign policy can change at any time depending on his personal political and economic interests and that he is a person who prioritizes his own gain above all else.
In response to the factory raid, President Trump initially took a firm stance, calling it a crackdown on illegal immigrants. However, he later backed down, saying, “Skilled foreign workers are welcome,” as concerns grew that the crackdown would adversely affect investment by foreign companies. This was similar to the past case of Chinese student visas, when he had initially pushed for strong measures before later changing his attitude.
When I visited a Republican Party branch in the metropolitan Atlanta area, local residents seemed largely unaware of the Korean workers who were detained, despite working mostly within legal procedures. On the contrary, they were fairly dissatisfied that the Hyundai plant had not increased the number of jobs as much as expected. Due to the nature of swing states, politicians also seemed to be more concerned about local public sentiment than about foreign affairs. One diplomat even suggested that Gov. Brian Kemp’s lack of support for President Trump in the last presidential election may have been a factor in his reluctance to speak out.
As time goes on, I get the impression that the top priority of the Trump administration is to shore up his base for the midterm elections rather than concentrate on foreign policy. Amid inflation and deepening polarization, anti-immigration policies have become a means to channel discontent toward specific groups. As the recent assassination of far-right influencer Charlie Kirk has attracted media attention elsewhere, the Georgia situation appears to be being quickly settled by staff workers. One reporter I met at the Journalist Exchange Program told me, “Trump’s strategy is to constantly stir up problems to scatter the media’s attention.”** If even the foreign policy of a nation is so unpredictable, how are other nations supposed to respond? It was a question that weighed heavily on the journey home.
*Editor’s note: ESTA stands for Electronic System for Travel Authorization, an automated system required for citizens of Visa Waiver Program countries to travel to the U.S. for tourism or business for stays of 90 days or less.
**Editor’s note: Although correctly translated, the quoted content could not be independently verified.
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