When Donald Trump won his first-ever election in 2016, the world woke up the next morning in a collective state of shock and disbelief. Washington’s allies in Europe were caught completely unprepared; all of a sudden, they had to contend with a leader who relished needling them for all kinds of sins, real and perceived. America’s allies like Japan and South Korea, whose defence policies depend almost entirely on a stable alliance with the United States, were now forced to deal with a man who threatened to use those alliances as leverage to extract greater defence spending in Tokyo and Seoul. Latin America didn’t know what to believe, and frankly neither did many Americans.
Trump should schedule a phone call with Putin relatively early
Nobody is shocked this time around. Or at least they shouldn’t be. Unlike in 2016, when foreign governments failed to do their homework, US allies and partners spent the year before the US presidential election trying to reconnect with Trump’s inner circle.
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