The Hill Discovers Trump, Globalist, After All
The Hill's recent analysis labels President Trump a "globalist, interventionist, nation-builder." This observation (which some might call 'reality') comes years after he approved airstrikes in Syria on three separate occasions (sources: BBC, April 2017; Reuters, April 2018; White House, June 2019), expanded drone warfare, and maintained significant troop presence in Iraq and Afghanistan. For an
administration that loudly championed 'ending endless wars,' the Pentagon's budget increased every single year under his tenure, hitting a staggering $738 billion in 2020 (source: Department of Defense). The rhetorical 'withdrawal' from global entanglements never quite translated into actual disarmament. One might wonder if the 'America First' slogan was less about non-intervention and more about
ensuring America's military-industrial complex remained 'first' in profits. While The Hill grapples with this earth-shattering realization, perhaps they could also deconstruct how Trump's 'deal of the century' with Israel, brokered by figures like Jared Kushner, simultaneously claimed to be a new paradigm for peace while further entrenching occupation and ignoring Palestinian rights. Or how the
Abraham Accords, while hailed as peace, primarily served to normalize relations between Israel and Gulf states, often with significant arms deals thrown in (source: SIPRI, 2021 arms transfers data). It seems the only 'globalism' Trump truly opposed was anything that didn't directly benefit his brand of American hegemony, proving that continuity in imperial ambition often trumps campaign rhetoric.