It’s a Washington cliche that when things aren’t going well at home, a president travels abroad to help reset the narrative. So President Trump’s first foreign trip is appropriately timed.
His nine-day, five-stop journey through the Middle East and Europe is, however, unlikely to give him respite from controversies about his firing of FBI Director James Comey, and the appointment of a special counsel to look into his campaign’s alleged collusion with Russia. Members of the White House press corps are traveling with the president, and they will take their questions with them.
But even setting that aside, Trump’s trip won’t be easy. The world will be watching to see how America’s new president represents the country on the world stage, and handles thorny diplomatic issues. His main task will be to reassure important allies that America still has their backs.
In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, this weekend, Trump will deliver a speech to leaders of Muslim countries about Islam and the persistent threat of terrorism. For his words to be taken seriously, he will need to respectful without slipping into an apologetic cultural cringe, as former President Barack Obama did, and resolute about jihadis without sounding like a bully. Such nuances do not come naturally to Trump, who has claimed Islam “hates us.”
Next, in Israel, Trump must reassure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is irked that Trump apparently revealed Israeli classified intelligence to Russian officials in the Oval Office. He should also offer a timetable to keep his campaign pledge to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, although strong hints have already been dropped that this promise is not going to be honored.
At the Vatican, Trump will meet Pope Francis. Neither man has hidden his dislike for the other. Trump must focus on showing his determination to fight religious persecution, particularly against Christians, which the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom recently reported as “worsening in both the depth and breadth of violations.”
Later next week, at a NATO summit, Trump must reassure member states that he as changed his mind, as he says, and no longer regards NATO as “obsolete,” and recognizes it as a vital guarantor of security in Europe, including against Russian aggression.
Trump won the presidency in part by pledging to put American interests ahead of all others. This shouldn’t have been controversial. Any head of state should be able to make the same patriotic claim about their policies. But Trump should make clear to Europe’s leaders that he shares the view of his national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, that “America First doesn’t mean America alone.” Nor does it mean that America should “lead from behind,” which was the Obama administration’s failed foreign policy doctrine.
Trump must reassure allies that while his administration will put America’s interests first, America can still be counted on to defend its allies and its values.
