President Donald Trump’s second term has delivered some wins, but a pattern of half-measures and deferred settlements risks reducing his presidential legacy to a series of temporary patches. His operational mindset is simple: when he cannot achieve something decisively, he declares victory and leaves things unresolved. With the midterm elections approaching, this cowardly approach threatens the GOP’s future, especially if Vice President JD Vance aspires to turn multilateralist episodic deals into party doctrine.

Start with Panama. Trump appealed to serious concerns about China’s 30% share of global cargo to push Panama out of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative. He secured a February 2026 Supreme Court ruling voiding China’s Hutchison concession and U.S. troop-rotation rights. But no treaty locks in those gains; without permanent operational control, a future Panamanian nationalist backlash could hand the canal back to Beijing.