Trump’s Foreign Policy Frustrations

With certain foreign policy achievements, Trump could have been reelected.

During times like these, the rankings of the best U.S. presidents resurface. It’s significant that all presidents considered to be the best have handled crucial chapters in U.S. foreign policy.

Aside from Abraham Lincoln and George Washington who are included in all the rankings, Theodore Roosevelt often appears among the best presidents. He spearheaded the “big stick” policy, to which many countries fell victim, Colombia included, with none other than its separation from Panama.

Woodrow Wilson led the United States into World War I and later, in 1918, proposed the Treaty of Versailles between Germany and the victorious powers, an agreement that his country did not end up adhering to, however.

Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman confronted World War II; the former through U.S. participation in the war after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the latter with the launch of the atomic bomb and Japan’s surrender. Likewise, Roosevelt adopted the “good neighbor” policy, which characterized Latin American relations from 1933 onward.

Dwight D. Eisenhower, commander of the American forces during World War II, was a player in the Cold War during his presidency. He negotiated a nuclear arms agreement with the Soviet Union and arranged for peace between the two Koreas after years of war.

John F. Kennedy successfully overcame the Cuban Missile Crisis, a complex situation that placed us on the brink of a new world war.

After the U.S. defeat in Vietnam and the kidnapping of American hostages in Tehran, which was followed by a failed rescue attempt on behalf of the Carter administration, Ronald Reagan inspired a demoralized America. He also served as a supportive figure during the resounding collapse of the Soviet Union and the Iron Curtain.

Barack Obama has been included on the lists as well; he normalized relations with Cuba and brought U.S. troops home from Iraq.

Donald Trump could have been included. However, things didn’t turn out the way he expected. The decision to withdraw American forces dispersed across the globe — which was announced during a graduation ceremony at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point — arrived late, and generated more criticism than support, overall.

The widely publicized case of a new era in relations with North Korea gradually faded. The process of reestablishing relations between some Arab states and Israel did not produce results that the Camp David Accords did. Meanwhile, Nicolas Maduro continues to relax in Venezuela with rigged elections next Sunday and a debilitated and divided opposition.

In our country, foreign policy is marginal and intermittently managed. Some time ago, a presidential candidate used the phrase “work more, play less” during his campaign in reference to the Chancellery,* and years later another appeared, calling for the “end of the Chancellery.”*

This doesn’t include the characters who have preferred to avoid responsibility for dispelling false and widespread beliefs about foreign policy. The effort to preserve their popularity in the polls at all costs, even by distorting the facts, has prevailed.

*Translator’s note: The Chancellery is a term for Colombia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.