Trump is gliding up the foreign policy learning curve

Donald Trump’s first few months in office have been anything but dull. The president has suffered some early setbacks, particularly regarding misguided travel bans and healthcare policy. Nonetheless, Trump has gotten some things right and his tenure could end up looking a lot like a traditional Republican presidency, especially on the foreign policy front.

Many thought that Trump would embrace isolationism, repudiate American allies and cozy up to Russian strongman Vladimir Putin. Others perhaps believed Trump would immediately initiate a trade or currency war with China. And most people didn’t think Trump’s foreign policy would even pay lip service to humanitarian concerns, such as Bashar al-Assad’s use of sarin in Syria.

Yet, thus far, things have turned out differently.

{mosads}Certainly, some of these policy shifts are directly related to who Trump has hired to oversee foreign and national security policy. James Mattis at Defense, Rex Tillerson at State and H.R. McMaster as National Security Advisor are all supremely talented people with foreign policy views that are quite mainstream. Frankly, if any other Republican had put this group together, more than a few folks would be talking about how the president had assembled a foreign-policy dream team.

However, the pace of political appointments (or even people being nominated) is a very valid concern and it’s something that the Trump administration needs to prioritize in the coming months.

We’ve obviously not seen many people take a wait-and-see approach to Trump generally and his foreign policy specifically, far from it. For example, respected commentators and analysts were denouncing Tillerson as irrelevant moments after he assumed his duties. It’s true that he’s not gotten off to a perfect start and that his approach to media relations has left plenty to be desired. But it’s silly to be making such sweeping conclusions so soon.

More broadly, many in the media have been beating up on Trump for backing away from some of his most problematic campaign positions vis-à-vis China, Russia, NATO and more. We’re told that he’s erratic and unpredictable; how dare he change his mind so quickly.

Some would want you to believe that the president is thoughtless and, frankly, dumb. Nonetheless, let’s keep something in mind: the folks already slamming Trump’s incipient foreign policy are the same individuals who would be lambasting Trump incessantly if he had not reversed course on these positions. Essentially, they’re going to denigrate Trump and his presidency either way.

Basically, Trump’s being criticized for recalibrating his positions as he acquires more knowledge about a host of issues. Do we not want presidents who learn on the job? Do we not want presidents who reconsider their views after becoming more familiar with certain (and in Trump’s case probably “many”) subjects?

Trump seems to be learning as he gains more experience; that’s something that people of all political persuasions should welcome. To be clear, he remains prone to pettiness. His use of Twitter is frequently counterproductive and should be curtailed in the coming months. More generally, Trump’s mercantilist instincts could still presage trouble on the trade front and his views on immigration, a border wall and foreign aid are reprehensible.

Nevertheless, the president has started building an impressive foreign and national security policy team — which of course doesn’t include Sebastian Gorka — and has begun adopting  some mainstream foreign policy positions. While plenty remains unknown, the early days of Trump’s presidency demonstrate a course correction that’s most welcome.

Taylor Dibbert, a writer based in the Washington, D.C. area, is affiliated with the Pacific Forum at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, although his opinion is his own. He is the author of “Fiesta of Sunset: The Peace Corps, Guatemala and a Search for Truth.” Follow him on Twitter @taylordibbert.

The views expressed by contributors are their own and are not the views of The Hill.