Trump’s globalism highlights the chink in MAGA’s armour

Operation Venezuela is complete. Trump’s maximalist pursuit of Greenland remains in the works, while incursion in Iran looms (again). Not to omit his efforts as ‘peacemaker-in-chief’, wherein he supposedly stops a war every month or so, and his global trade war, Trump’s global gallivanting seems endless. Under his MAGA banner, he has called for a side-step into isolationism, prioritising domestic US priorities over all else. It’s long been questioned whether this mythical state of isolationism exists, and if recent affairs prove anything, it’s that it never has and probably never will.

The call to acquire Greenland is grounded in a desire to enhance Arctic security. Trump deployed a similar rationale for his Venezuelan invasion, citing the threat of drugs and criminal migrants finding their way into the US. This security-focused rhetoric has long dominated US foreign policy, from the Cold War to the War on Terror, but there was an expectation that Trump’s second term would deviate from this long-standing trend. Trump unapologetically told the world he’d be putting ‘America First’, yet he seems utterly consumed by ‘worldwide situation[s]’. Something doesn’t quite add up.

The opening line of the US’ most recent National Security Strategy refers to America’s key role in bringing the world back from the brink. Afterwards, it lists all of Trump’s foreign forays; his continent-spanning commitments and record-breaking tariffs. It’s not as if Trump has therefore been dragged into these issues as a reluctant partner; he’s embracing globalism in a manner that completely contradicts what he was supposed to stand for, proclaiming it loudly and most certainly proudly. As he declared in conversation with The Atlantic, “I run the world” – and that’s a belief he’s certainly putting into action.

Linking this back to Trump’s global operations, particularly those in Venezuela and Greenland, it’s hard to be convinced by his pleas for enhanced Western security

Trump is not a victim of international circumstance, but a proactive player in today’s frantic international sphere. Thus, we are left to ponder why the sudden jerk away from a domestic focus onto the world stage. An obvious answer lies in his consistent inconsistency. Operating not based on a framework of underlying principles, Trump lurches from one populist whim to another. The prime example is his global trade wars, which directly oppose his neoliberal-esque rhetoric of cutting red tape. Distinct, but ultimately paradoxical policies. Another suggestion is that he simply enjoys the attention. Through the Office of the President, he has a platform through which to construct global affairs, centring around one pivotal point: himself. It’s fitting for a man defined by ego who believes himself to be above international law.

However, the likely answer is that the latter is an expression of the former: Trump is swaying between personal whims, and without a governmental outlook or conviction to the principles by which he was elected to guide this action, it often feeds back into a need to feed his personal narcissism. Linking this back to Trump’s global operations, particularly those in Venezuela and Greenland, it’s hard to be convinced by his pleas for enhanced Western security. He didn’t campaign on the issue; in fact, he campaigned on a distinctly domestic focus, hitting home a hard truth many have long considered gospel: Trump’s promises are paperweights.

Yet there remains hope that the rest of the electorate can see through the smoke and mirrors of the blind and loyal and see the light on MAGA

Will the MAGA legions adjust and feel a swaying level of loyalty to their zealot? It’s unlikely. Such Trumpian inconsistency has been a long-standing staple of its titular leader, particularly during his second term. They stuck by him even after the events of January 6th, 2021, and have defended his blatant anti-constitutionalist rhetoric. It proves, however, that Trump’s actions mean little in this domain.

Trump said he would put domestic issues first, but he has done the exact opposite, and it will still mean nothing to his core allegiance. In this sense, amongst his duty-bound followers, he is indomitable. Yet there remains hope that the rest of the electorate can see through the smoke and mirrors of the blind and loyal and see the light on MAGA. Even the most Republican of Republicans has found the truth. Former Trump stalwart Marjorie Taylor Greene has declared that MAGA was “all a lie”, turning away from the sword she once stood to die by. Dishonest and unprincipled, ‘America First’ adds to a growing but already sizeable pile of Trump mistruths. Let’s just hope the next one doesn’t send more missiles flying.