President Trump stormed through the Middle East on the first foreign trip of his second term this week, and he didn’t shrink from bold moves or confident assertions. His big speech, in Saudi Arabia, even laid out what might be called a Trump Doctrine, if that phrase can be used about a President who is so transactional.
Mr. Trump is offering a form of foreign-policy realism rooted in good commercial relations and a focus on negotiating peace and stability. He doesn’t much care what kind of government countries run as long as they want good relations with the U.S. He’s looking for deals, even with enemies. He thinks mutual interest in prosperity can overcome even strong ideological differences—and he has no interest in promoting American values, including liberty or democracy.
His Middle Eastern policy is taking this doctrine on a test drive. He took the advice of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to repeal sanctions on Syria’s new Islamist government. He even met the former jihadist now running Damascus, Ahmed al-Sharaa, whom he called “attractive, tough.” In Trump world, those are the highest compliments.
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