CHINA/EU/FOREIGN POLICY/IRAN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “It’s Donald Trump’s latest rebrand — global man of action. The President is taking his political chaos theory beyond America’s borders and racking up wins for his faithful political base. Positioning himself as a domineering global figure to shore up his standing back home, Trump is changing the subject from the scandals hounding his administration ahead of the midterm elections…It’s a spectacle that is being watched with foreboding abroad. America’s allies, for example, have made no secret of their intense frustration at Trump’s exit from the Iran nuclear deal. European diplomats are becoming increasingly concerned that their nations’ priorities are becoming collateral damage to Trump’s base. In recent days, Trump has trashed the Iran deal and sent China a staggering ultimatum, demanding huge concessions on trade. Next week, the US will move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem — a move that defied the warnings of America’s Arab allies. Trump is building on a record that saw him pull out of the Paris climate accord and ditch a massive Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact last year. It’s a rampage through the constraints that have governed American foreign policy for generations, and it’s dismayed America’s friends. Some seasoned observers fear it could backfire.”
-Stephen Collinson, “Trump hopes ‘America First’ abroad leads to wins at home,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, May 11, 2018 6:28 am