By: Josh Rogin
The Washington Post
President’s Trump’s foreign policy follows no firm ideology but is often a combination of his long-held personal views and the influence of whoever currently has his ear. These days, Trump is listening more than ever to Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who is quietly steering U.S. foreign policy in a new direction.
After Trump’s abrupt decision to withdraw all U.S. troops from Syria — against the advice of his entire national security team — a stunned Washington establishment rushed to blame Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who reportedly asked Trump to leave Syria during a Dec. 14 phone call. But Erdogan has made that request for years. What’s changed recently is whom Trump is listening to back home.
Several U.S. officials and people who have spoken directly to Trump since his Syria decision tell me they believe that Paul’s frequent phone conversations with Trump, wholly outside the policy process, are having an outsize influence on the president’s recent foreign policy decisions. The two golf buddies certainly are sounding a lot alike recently.
Paul told CNN on Dec. 23 that he had talked to Trump about Syria and was “very proud of the president.”
That night on Twitter, Trump quoted Paul as saying, “It should not be the job of America to replace regimes around the world… The generals still don’t get the mistake.”
The Washington Post
President’s Trump’s foreign policy follows no firm ideology but is often a combination of his long-held personal views and the influence of whoever currently has his ear. These days, Trump is listening more than ever to Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who is quietly steering U.S. foreign policy in a new direction.
After Trump’s abrupt decision to withdraw all U.S. troops from Syria — against the advice of his entire national security team — a stunned Washington establishment rushed to blame Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who reportedly asked Trump to leave Syria during a Dec. 14 phone call. But Erdogan has made that request for years. What’s changed recently is whom Trump is listening to back home.
Several U.S. officials and people who have spoken directly to Trump since his Syria decision tell me they believe that Paul’s frequent phone conversations with Trump, wholly outside the policy process, are having an outsize influence on the president’s recent foreign policy decisions. The two golf buddies certainly are sounding a lot alike recently.
Paul told CNN on Dec. 23 that he had talked to Trump about Syria and was “very proud of the president.”
That night on Twitter, Trump quoted Paul as saying, “It should not be the job of America to replace regimes around the world… The generals still don’t get the mistake.”
Read more at The Washington Post.
