Trump Has Been (Partly) Good for U.S. Foreign Policy
By shattering outdated norms, the president has set up his successor to be a transformational figure.
Glory can be transitional.
Photographer: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
The best presidents are transformational, not transitional. They do not simply shake up the old status quo; they create a better one.
When it comes to foreign policy, Donald Trump will surely fall short of that standard: He has been far more adept at disruption than at the building that ought to follow. Yet in this transitional role, he has done whoever succeeds him a favor. By breaking with precedent so forcefully on issues from trade to security alliances to China, the president has given his successor an opportunity to engage in the creative construction that has too often eluded Trump himself.