Looking at the crises facing America, the question of foreign policy leadership is crucial. As just one example, with Putin on the march, we all know that Ukraine’s fate would be very different if Trump were in the White House. Trump’s records of foreign policy achievements, which he achieved despite the Russia collusion hoax that hampered him, make a compelling case for Trump to lead America again. Here is an overview of Trump’s relevant global accomplishments.

Restoring relationships with America’s most important ally

Britain and the United States share a political culture based on the three pillars of Anglo-Saxon governance: Individual freedom, the Rule of Law, and Democracy. (Continental Europe has other versions of democracy.)

When Obama entered the White House in January 2009, the first thing he did was to remove the bust of Winston Churchill from the Oval Office. When Trump entered the White House, he quickly returned it to where it belonged. America’s relationship with Britain was his high priority and the Anglo-American alliance was strong and respectful.

Achieving peace in the Middle East.

Henry Kissinger, Nixon’s Secretary of State, asked Biden to uphold Trump’s policy in the Middle East. He called Trump’s Abraham Accords a breakthrough in Arab-Israeli relations:

“I think that one of the great successes of the previous administration was that they had lined up, that they had achieved two things in the Middle East,” Kissinger said. “One, to separate the Palestinian problem from all of the other problems so that it did not become a veto over everything else—and secondly, of lining up the Sunni states in actual or potential combination against the Shiite states, which is Iran, that was developing a capacity to threaten them. I think that this was a brilliant concept. We were just at the beginning of it.”

The Abraham Accords opened economic and political ties between the United States, Israel, United Arab Emirates, Sudan, and Morocco. This strengthened the Gulf states and Israel in defending themselves against the Iran-China alliance.

Trump’s support for ASEAN over Chinese expansionism

The ASEAN consists of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam. Throughout Obama’s presidency, China was free to intimidate these nations for its own economic gains.

We know that, acting through his son Hunter, then-Vice President Biden received around $31 million from Chinese businessmen with high-level links to Chinese intelligence. Knowing that, it’s hard to see as coincidental the fact that by April 2016 it was obvious that China was using its fishing fleet to expand its territorial claims in the South China Sea. The ASEAN’s traditional fishing industry was abruptly ended, and the individual nations’ financial security directly threatened.

Trump, correctly sensing what was going on, succeeded in confronting China while building up allies within ASEAN.

In March 2021, however, with Biden in the White House, China again expanded its military presence by sending a huge “fishing” fleet to the ASEAN’s seas, escalating the tension between China and the Southeast Asian countries.

Image: Donald Trump by Gage Skidmore. CC BY-SA 2.0.

Trump dealt with China’s aggression toward its neighbors

China created artificial islands in the South China Sea, using them as army bases for claims to offshore resources. The coast off Viet Nam with undersea oil reserves was in hot dispute and China threatened a border war with Viet Nam.

Trump took a firm position with China (which terrified Democrats) and Chinese troops withdrew their oil drilling process. Trump was much appreciated for his insight and statesmanship by Vietnamese people worldwide. Viet Nam was also quietly moving away from Communism, bringing huge economic progress as a result. Marxism is no longer a school subject.

Trump formed new allies in the wider Indo-Pacific region

With Trump’s guidance and commitment, the US, Japan, India, and Australia formed the Quad. The four Navies participated in their first joint exercise in November 2020. They held a summit in September 2021 with the theme, “The Quad countries pledge to promote an Indo-Pacific region that is ‘undaunted by coercion’.”

Hong Kong citizens trusted Trump

In 2014, the “Umbrella Movement” organized by university students emerged as the largest resistance to the Chinese regime. The peaceful protesters were assaulted, arrested, and tortured in prison. When Trump became President, protesters held American flags with Trump’s name while marching in the streets. In response to their pleas, he foretold that “Hong Kong would be treated the same as Mainland China.” So, when the new Security Law imposed sanctions on Hong Kong officials, Trump terminated Hong Kong’s preferential economic status.

Helping Taiwan to maintain regional stability

Trump made a firm commitment to Taiwan and signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act for the 2018 fiscal year. This authorized the re-establishment of the port of call exchanges between the Taiwanese and US Navies.

Taiwan is strategically critical for US security. Trump knew that if China took over Taiwan, Chinese troops could conduct naval and aerial blockades to choke off Japan, then use Taiwan’s military bases to attack Japan and the US interests. America would be pushed out of the Western Pacific. Guam and Hawaii are the next line of US defense but are isolated in the broad expanse of the Pacific.

When Biden became President, Taiwan became more vulnerable. Former national security adviser H.R. McMaster said, “Taiwan is the next big prize” for China and is “the most significant flashpoint” that could lead to a large-scale war.

Diplomacy with North Korea

Kim Jong-un personally admired Trump. In February 2019, they held a secret meeting in Ha Noi. A South Korean media report revealed the full details on Kim, based on intelligence sources. Trump and Kim talked about the US embargo and Kim’s nuclear ambition. In private, they apparently discussed decoupling of North Korea from China and Kim appeared enthusiastic. They met again secretly at the Korean demilitarized zone in June 2019. Sadly, the historic diplomacy was interrupted. Vietnamese sources revealed that Kim’s cabinet feared uncertainty and was afraid to abandon their nuclear power. Without that, and being a small state, the Chinese regime could easily crush North Korea for siding with the US.

Working to decouple Russia from China

Trump wanted to separate Russia and China, judging that the two leaders are simply maintaining a long-term relationship of convenience. For them, the ultimate goal is to overtake the democratic United States and Europe, starting with Ukraine and Taiwan. Such a mega-power alliance would permit Xi a wider scope of ambition for controlling the neighboring countries. 

Trump knew that Putin was concerned about Xi’s plan to dominate Southeast Asia. Putin also wanted to increase Russia’s presence there, but by economically competing with China. 

Now Putin and Xi have different worries with the escalation of the war in Ukraine. Putin has met strong local resistance unexpectedly. Xi is upset with the collateral damage for China, given its good relationship with Ukraine and a lot of investments in the country.

Practical solution with illegal migrants

Pro-Trump politicians were elected as leaders of Mexico and Brazil. With Trump’s diplomacy, nearly 30,000 Mexican troops were deployed to prevent illegal migrants from crossing Mexico. In 2019, Trump entered a bilateral agreement with the “northern triangle” countries: Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. They would control the flows of illegal migrants and allow only those with a genuine fear of persecution to pass through.

Firm and clear resolve as a deterrent

According to The Hill, a recent poll by the Harvard Center for American Political Studies and Harris found the majority of American voters say that Putin would not have invaded Ukraine if Trump still occupied the White House.

What’s unfolding now in Ukraine was inevitable on January 20, 2021, when Trump left the White House. Our only hope is that Biden’s administration does not precipitate World War III.

Laura Lam is originally from Viet Nam, a nation that strongly supports Donald Trump.