Is President Trump's Foreign Policy Similar To The Foreign Policies Of Presidents Obama And Bush?

Rick Wilking / Reuters

Hal Brands, Business Insider/Foreign Policy: Foreign officials think Trump is a lot more like Obama and Bush than most Americans might think

* Most foreign officials have been cautiously relieved that roughly 80% of US foreign policy is proceeding normally under the Trump administration.
* They see traces of former President George W. Bush in Trump's confrontational rhetoric, disdain for international opinion, clashes with allies, and withdrawal from international agreements.
* They believe Trump has heightened former President Barack Obama's penchant for nation building at home as opposed to abroad, skepticism of the value of US alliances, and disdain for the advice of the foreign-policy establishment.

One of the perverse benefits of being a strategy wonk in Washington these days is getting to observe the anxious ally parade. Over the past year, officials from virtually every key US ally have repeatedly visited Washington in an effort to determine what to make of the Trump administration and how best to cope with it.

As a broad generalization, most of these officials relate some version of what Shadow Government's Colin Kahl has termed, aptly, the 80/20 rule. They are cautiously encouraged by the fact that perhaps 80 percent of US policy appears to be proceeding more or less normally.

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WNU Editor: I see a lot of differences .... not similarities. I do not know who these foreign officials are who believe that there are a lot of similarities between President Trump' foreign policy and the foreign policies of  Presidents Obama/Bush .... because I have been spending the past year posting a number of stories that are saying the exact opposite.