Trump ties foreign policy to personal whim as alarmed allies organize

President Donald Trump has based significant diplomatic decisions on personal slights during the past week — revoking Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s invitation to his Board of Peace and threatening tariffs on Switzerland, Denmark, and Canada over his personal interactions with their leaders. The moves illustrate what Trump and his advisers describe as a “maximalist strategy” and what alarmed allied leaders increasingly call a destabilizing departure from the rules-based international order that has underpinned U.S. foreign policy since World War II.

Carney is emerging as the organizer of an international response, urging middle-power countries to “combine to create a third path” independent of U.S. pressure. Meanwhile, some leaders including UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer have begun pushing back directly, and Pentagon guidance released Friday signals the U.S. intends for allies to shoulder their own defense.

Trump’s Personal Preferences Drive Foreign Policy

Trump’s approach to diplomacy — basing decisions on whether leaders “rubbed me the wrong way” — is driven by what his advisers describe as a “maximalist strategy.” In remarks to the Atlantic, Steve Bannon said Trump must keep pushing his agenda “until you meet resistance.” As Bannon noted, “we haven’t met any resistance” in Washington, where the Republican-controlled Congress has declined to check Trump’s impulses.

But leaders abroad are increasingly vocal. Trump did not take kindly to Carney’s assertion at Davos that middle-power countries must act together, responding with threats before yanking Carney’s Board of Peace invitation. “Canada lives because of the United States,” Trump said. “Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements.”

Allies Organize a Response

Carney, unbowed, spoke at a cabinet retreat in Quebec City about showing the world that “another way is possible.” He articulated a strategy in which middle powers would link up to create “a third path with impact” rather than competing individually for favor with great powers. “If you are not at the table, you are on the menu,” Carney said at Davos.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer directly challenged Trump’s criticism of NATO commitment, noting the 457 British personnel killed in Afghanistan and those bearing lifelong injuries. “I will never forget their courage, their bravery and the sacrifice they made for their country,” Starmer said. Denmark, which Trump has called “ungrateful” for U.S. protection during World War II, suffered the highest per capita death toll among coalition forces in Afghanistan.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who attended the World Economic Forum alongside a bipartisan delegation to Denmark, reported hearing the phrase “new world order” repeatedly at Davos. “It may be you just had a bad telephone call with the president and now you’re going to have tariffs directed at you,” she told reporters. “This lack of stability and reliability, I think, is causing what were traditionally reliable trade partners to be saying to other countries, ‘Hey, maybe you and I should talk because I’m not sure about what’s going on with the United States.’”

Carney already traveled to China earlier this month to meet with President Xi Jinping, signaling a potential shift in strategic alignment. Sen. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, told reporters that Trump has shown he only backs down when countries demonstrate “toughness and resiliency,” citing China as an example. “Those who were accommodating and who negotiated in good faith, like the EU, which did not impose retaliatory tariffs, seemed to have not won any of his respect,” Coons said.

Expanding the Board of Peace

The Board of Peace, which Trump chairs, was initially formed to focus on maintaining the ceasefire in Israel’s war with Hamas. But it has grown into something Western allies fear could rival the United Nations. Trump has already widened its mandate and shown willingness to use it as a vehicle for rewarding and punishing countries based on personal preference. The threat to Carney’s membership came after Carney outlined a competing vision for international cooperation.

Trump’s ultimatum to Denmark — “say yes” to U.S. control of Greenland “and we will be very appreciative. Or you can say no and we will remember” — crystallized what Jake Sullivan, Biden’s former national security adviser, described as a strategic opportunity for China. “China’s leadership watched an American president fight with allies, insult world leaders, and engage in bizarre antics, and thought to themselves — this is nothing but good for us,” Sullivan said.

The Pentagon underscored this shift late Friday by releasing a defense strategy telling allies to handle their own security. Trump on Saturday threatened to impose a 100% tariff on Canadian goods if the country proceeded with a China trade deal.