Trump signals shift from Obama’s focus on multilateralism
For eight years, President Barack Obama’s foreign policy doctrine has been rooted in a belief that while the United States can take action around the world on its own, it rarely should.
“Multilateralism regulates hubris,” Obama declared.
His successor, President-elect Donald Trump, has derided some of the same international partnerships Obama and his recent predecessors have promoted, raising the prospect that the Republican’s “America First” agenda might well mean an America more willing to act alone.
“The United Nations has such great potential but right now it is just a club for people to get together, talk and have a good time,” Trump tweeted days after the UN Security Council approved a resolution condemning Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. Both Israel and Trump called on the U.S. to use its veto power to block the measure, but the Obama administration instead abstained.