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Cipher Brief Expert View: Trump’s Trip: Shades of Bill Clinton

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Posted: May 26th, 2017

By James Jeffrey

Ambassador James F. Jeffrey joined the Wilson Center in December 2020 as Chair of the Middle East Program. Ambassador Jeffrey served as the Secretary’s Special Representative for Syria Engagement and the Special Envoy to the Global Coalition To Defeat ISIS until November 8, 2020. He is a senior American diplomat with experience in political, security, and energy issues in the Middle East, Turkey, Germany, and the Balkans.

President Donald Trump’s first overseas visit was “Trumpist” in its ambitions, ambiance, and expanse: the three monotheistic religions, NATO, EU, and G-7 gatherings; a whirlwind of cultural experiences; and “finally Make America Great Again” with commercial and arms sales, investments, and gestures. But the core of the visit was reassurance to two American-led alliance systems under stress: the Middle Eastern and NATO-European. 

The largely Sunni Arab world, Israel, and Turkey sought assurance that Trump would reverse President Barack Obama’s “pivot” away from the region, and Obama’s admonishment that Saudi Arabia had to “share” the Middle East with Iran.  The governments and people of the region also worried that candidate Trump’s strident anti-Islamic themes reflected hostility towards them. 

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