{"id":10302,"date":"2017-06-21T11:40:43","date_gmt":"2017-06-21T18:40:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/?p=10302"},"modified":"2017-06-21T11:40:43","modified_gmt":"2017-06-21T18:40:43","slug":"u-s-foreign-policy-and-the-transatlantic-relationship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/u-s-foreign-policy-and-the-transatlantic-relationship\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Foreign Policy and the Transatlantic Relationship"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Strategika<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
by <\/span>Erik Jones<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
Tuesday, June 20, 2017<\/span><\/div>\n<\/header>\n
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Image credit:\u00a0Poster Collection, INT 280, Hoover Institution Archives.<\/h6>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

As candidate, Donald Trump made a number of comments about the utility of the North Atlantic Alliance and about the virtues of European integration that left many in the establishment scratching their heads. When he was elected President of the United States, Trump did very little to soften his tone. On the contrary, the Trump White House floated the names of potential ambassadorial appointments who talked about the transatlantic relationship and the European Union in even more disparaging tones. Of course, this could all be marked down as campaign bluster and the hiccups that come with any transition into office. Other more seasoned politicians and diplomats have challenged Europe to do more for NATO, and many have expressed exasperation with the transatlantic partnership. Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Victoria Nuland are two obvious examples, but the list is a long one. Nevertheless, the positions taken by Trump with respect to Europe both as candidate and as President are unusual enough to warrant putting them into context.<\/p>\n

Most scholars who look at the transatlantic relationship from the U.S. perspective start with two commitments:<\/p>\n