Trump's Trials - Assessing Trump's 'transactional' foreign policy, 6 months in

Episode Date: July 21, 2025

As a candidate, President Trump promised to change America's foreign policy. Six months into his second administration, NPR's Tamara Keith examines where things stand. Support NPR and hear every episode of Trump's Terms sponsor-free with NPR+. Sign up at plus.npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

I'm Scott Detro and this is Trump's terms from NPR. We're going to be doing all sorts of things nobody ever thought was even possible. President Trump has brought back strength to the White House. We can't just ignore the president's desires. This will be an entirely different country in a short period of time. Every episode we bring you one of NPR's latest stories about the 47th president and how he is trying to remake the federal government. Today's story starts right after this.

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What keeps them up at night? I fear that what it means to be human may suddenly not be our own. We've got a special series from NPR's TED Radio Hour. It's called The Prophets of Technology. What they got right, wrong, and where these pioneers think we're headed next. Listen to the TED Radio Hour wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, everybody.

It's Ian from How to Do Everything. On our show, we attempt to answer your how-to questions. We don't know how to do anything. So we call experts. Last season, both Tom Hanks and Martha Stewart stopped by to help. Our next season is launching in just a few months, so get us your questions now by emailing howto at npr.org or calling 1-800-424-2935. I'm Sasha Pfeiffer. We're now six months into the second Trump administration. And as a candidate, Trump promised to remake America's

approach to foreign policy and national security. So we're turning to NPR senior White House correspondent Tamar Keith, who's been following how Trump has done on that front so far. Hi, Tam. Hello. So tell us what have you learned about how he approaches foreign policy. TAMARA KEITH, NPR Senior White House Correspondent There are a bunch of disparate data points. So I called several foreign policy experts to see if they could help me define the Trump foreign policy doctrine. And I was told again and again that that's just not the way he operates. Bradley Bowman is at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.

He has a military background and previously worked for Republican senators. President Trump's approach is consistently unorthodox, assertive, contrarian, unilateral, mercurial, and transactional. President Trump campaigned on ending foreign wars, but he ordered bunker-busting bombs to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, which is certainly assertive. He is very focused on deals, peace deals, trade deals, deals for American businesses, though he hasn't sealed as many of those deals as he's promised. And in many cases, it's as much about how he feels about a country's leader as whatever the longstanding U.S. relationship has been.

You mentioned the strikes on Iran. How would you apply that view that you just described to Trump's handling of the war in Ukraine? Yeah, this is one of the foreign wars that he said he could end within 24 hours. Obviously, that didn't happen. And initially, it seemed like he was taking Russia's side. He even publicly fought with Ukrainian President Zelensky in the Oval Office back in February, as everyone remembers. But in the past week or so, there's been a pretty dramatic shift. Now the president is mad at Putin for sweet-talking him on the phone and then continuing to bomb civilians in Ukraine. And last week, Trump announced a deal with NATO where the alliance will buy weapons from

American companies and give them to Ukraine. For Trump, this checks a couple of boxes. The U.S. doesn't have to spend anything. American manufacturers get to sell weapons, and in the end, Ukraine gets the defensive weapons they were asking for. So a journalist asked Trump whether he's on Ukraine's side now. No, I'm on nobody's side. I'm on no- Why?

You know what the side I'm on? Humanity's side. I'm on nobody's side could also be read as a larger commentary on his agnostic approach to traditional allies and adversaries. So is this a one-off deal or a long-term U.S. commitment to helping Ukraine? The answer isn't clear. What do you think he's hoping to get from his approach? Wins. He relishes big announcements and he often changes the definition of success.

But by his telling, he and the US always come out ahead. But Heather Conley at the American Enterprise Institute asks, what comes next? It's not the deal. It's the next day. And how do you protect American prosperity and security as these conflicts and these very difficult regional dynamics continue to play out. It's never easy. It's just the art of one deal.

Take Iran. He came in strong, got a ceasefire, and has washed his hands of the whole thing. Or the situation with trade. Trump announced so-called reciprocal tariffs. His team said it was all about making deals for the U.S. 90 deals in 90 days. Those deals have not come quickly. So he's sending letters to countries and setting tariff levels unilaterally. And now he says the letters are the deals. President Trump likes to borrow the Reagan phrase, peace through strength.

Connolly says what Trump is really doing here is more like strength without commitment. That's NPR's Tamara Keith. Thank you. You're welcome. Before we wrap up, a reminder, you can find more coverage of the Trump administration on the NPR Politics Podcast, where you can hear NPR's political reporters break down the day's biggest political news with new episodes every weekday afternoon. And thanks, as always, to our NPR Plus supporters who hear every episode of the show without

sponsor messages. You can learn more at plus.npr.org. I'm Scott Detro. Thanks for listening to Trump's Terms from NPR. How are you choosing to live? On autopilot or with intention? The way you think you should or the way you want to? I'm Mariel Segarra, host of the LifeKit Podcast. Each episode is like a mini guidebook para tu vida, so you can manage time, money, fitness, amor, and other life things on your terms.

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