Research

Literature Review

Variable: people’s opinion, Trump’s popularity
Data Collection: public opinion survey
Data Analysis: Quantitative
Partisans voters (parties that oppose each other in their opinion) are increasingly closer to the leader of their party rather than the core policy position of the party itself
- Trump
Trump’s FP isn’t popular with the regular American public, only attract 21% of the 2016 voters
- Trump supporters display isolationist foreign policy tendency, even polarizing to the non-trump republicans
Mainstream voters prefer multilateral approaches to achiving national goals
Trump voters support unilateral actions
- against traditional democratic alliance (NATO)
- support for unilateralism over multilateralism

Obama showed restrains or ‘retrenchments’ in his FP
- Creating a power vacuum exploited by Russia, China, and Islamic State
- He focused on ‘strategic deliberation’ because he’s aware the country has less resources
  - narrowed his policies to strategic interests and foreign policy issues
Trump approach was an isolationist, but still putting America first
- NATO: Trump’s isolationist program confronted NATO countries to deal with their problems themselves
Which challenged the essense of US F, its external purposes, and it’s internal cohesion, and its chances of success
- Redefining US’s role in NATO: opposite to Obama’s “was ready to lead once more”
  - Trump said NATO’s partnership brought benefits but also too much responsibility
  - NATO countries must pay back what is owed
Trump offered more & less of Obama’s ‘retrenchment’ and isolationism
- Obama tried to reconstruct US’s image, badly impacted by Bush’s admin and Iraq
Trump undermine international confidence in the US’s ability to be the beacon of strength and power in uncertain times