Trump puts isolationism at center stage

Trump's embrace of isolationism has been a hallmark of his presidency.

It is now at the center of a foreign policy that will remove troops from Syria and cut the U.S. presence in Afghanistan in half.

The president’s “America first” instincts and his willingness to make public his differences with military commanders differentiate him from recent presidents and from many members of his own party.

During his visit with American troops stationed in Iraq on Wednesday, he emphasized his distrust of his own generals — who he characterized as repeatedly asking for more time to defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

It was an unusual message for a commander in chief to give during an inaugural visit to troops in a combat zone after nearly two years in office.

“They said again, recently, ‘Can we have more time?’ ” Trump said of his generals.

“I said, ‘Nope. You can’t have any more time. You’ve had enough time. We’ve knocked them out,’ ” Trump told the soldiers in Iraq, according to pool reports.

The choice of words was particularly notable given two resignations in the last week that have rocked the Pentagon: Defense Secretary James Mattis and the administration’s special envoy to the anti-ISIS coalition, Brett McGurk.

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/423037-the-memo-trump-puts-isolationism-at-center-stage?userid=229233

Trump's America first means America alone.