DONALD TRUMP

An analysis of Trump and his views since he first made them public in the 1980s.

It is generally believed that Trump is a lightweight with a foreign policy improvised on the campaign trail. We will show this assumption to be dangerously false. Trump has had a consistent position on international trade and America’s alliances since he first flirted with the idea of running for president in the late 1980s. Furthermore, his policy has deep roots in US history. We are not claiming that Trump will enact these positions at once when he is sworn in. Many presidents reverse positions when faced with the responsibility for high office. However, as Henry Kissinger emphasised, there is no time to learn on the job and policymakers will consume the intellectual capital that they bring to the office. We will sketch out the world view that Trump brings to the Oval Office, assembling the sources so that readers can also form their own view. Furthermore, while Trump has shown remarkable consistency over time, there have been some major policy shifts over the years and we will reveal on what basis and under what circumstances Trump changes his mind.