Donald Trump Will Never Be a Restrainer

The final verdict is in. It’s time to put an end to debates about whether U.S. President Donald Trump is some sort of foreign-policy realist or “restrainer.” Admittedly, his mercurial approach to policymaking and his penchant for saying one thing and doing the opposite make his views hard to pin down, especially when he flip-flops from one extreme to another for no apparent reason (see under: Ukraine). Although some of his statements and actions might appear to be compatible with the label, a realist/restrainer he is not.