President Trump’s approach to foreign policy in his second term has been transactional, unpredictable and exploitative. Allies and enemies alike are beginning to adapt.According to The New York Times, it was well past 2 a.m. when an aide to Vice President JD Vance attempted to wake up a senior Ukrainian official in a Munich hotel. The aide was trying to arrange a face-to-face meeting to finalize a deal that would allow the United States to extract valuable minerals in Ukraine, a top priority for President Donald J. Trump.
The aide insisted that the meeting had to happen that night, before Mr. Vance’s scheduled meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky the next day at a trans-Atlantic security conference. However, the Ukrainian official refused to leave his room, citing the late hour. The meeting the next day still took place, but the proposed deal remained unsigned.
The minerals deal, which was eventually signed on Wednesday, and the pre-dawn attempt to push it through in February, serve as a clear example of the Trump administration’s approach to foreign policy. The deal is seen as exploitative and transactional, with some even describing it as imperial in its demands. This deal, along with other actions taken by the Trump administration in its first 100 days, has caused chaos and disruption in the established world order.
From the NATO alliance to the global trading system, President Trump has made significant changes that have shaken the foundations of the existing world order. For example, his administration has imposed triple-digit tariffs on Chinese goods, leading to retaliatory measures from China. This has caused concern among European officials, who fear that the US may withdraw tens of thousands of troops from Europe in the coming months or years.
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