President-elect Donald Trump will be entering a far more unstable world than he faced during his first term, and experts say his strategy of praising U.S. adversaries while aiming to break their allegiances will be tested, The Hill reported.
The war in Ukraine has forced much of the world to choose sides with China, Iran, and North Korea all aiding Russian President Vladimir Putin in various ways as he seeks to expand Russian territory westward.
Trump has been consistent in urging European nations to contribute more toward NATO and not be overreliant on the U.S. to underwrite their defense budgets. The president-elect feels his congenial relationship with Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping affords him a place of negotiation not available to members of the Biden administration.
During a campaign stop in Arizona last month, Trump referenced his strategy in dealing with Putin, Xi, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
"We'll have a very good relationship, and there's reasons for them to want to like us, there's big reasons," he said.
"Look at what these stupid people have done. They've allowed Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, and others to get together in a group. This is impossible to think."
The alliance of the four nations — called CRINK in foreign policy circles — is aligned over antipathy to the United States, according to foreign policy experts, who say the war in Ukraine acted as a a catalyst to bring American adversaries together for their own economic, military, or political benefit.
"I do think that the relationship between these actors is deeper and more durable than many people believe and such that each of these leaders would probably be willing to pocket concessions from the United States, but not fundamentally alter the extent that they're cooperating with one another," Andrea Kendall-Taylor, senior fellow and director of the Transatlantic Security Program at the Center for a New American Security, told The Hill.
"Trump is approaching each of them bilaterally, and without the strong backing of our allies. Because they are in many ways acting as a collective and we are more isolated and alone without our allies, then the balance of power really shifts to them," she added.
David Kramer, executive director of the George W. Bush Institute, said the best way to disrupt CRINK is help Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelenskyy achieve victory.
"This is an opportunity for the incoming Trump administration to stand in stark contrast to the current Biden administration, which is to help Ukraine to victory.
"That is something the Biden administration never clearly enunciated. It's something the Trump administration could help Ukraine achieve," Kramer said.
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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