A Moment for Leadership: Will Trump Seize His Foreign Policy Legacy?

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By: Steve Carvelli

There are times in history when everything aligns for someone to lead; and the true leader answers by seizing that opportunity without reservation, remorse, or fear of repercussion.

We are at such a time, and the leader who needs to seize the opportunity is President Trump

American Presidents have had to deliver on domestic policy in order to woo and placate voters. However, the true legacy of a President and how that President will be judged by future historians lie in foreign policy and the decisions made to effect that policy.

President Trump occupies a unique political position. This President is term limited by Constitutional design; and in all probability has no desire to continue to serve in public office after the term ends. If he is a king–as many protestors claim–he became one without a royal lineage and with a set date for relinquishing power. Hardly a king in a traditional sense.

Public officials are subject to public opinion, pollsters, media pundits, and ultimately voters who all have a say whether they keep their job or not. This affects their decisions and actions in each term they serve. Whether it’s their freshman year in office or their 5th term, each office holder acts to get reelected.

The President is term limited but did enjoy an ideological mandate in which American interests are placed first. While most hold the assumption that America’s interests are defined by economic or national security considerations; it’s not that reductionist. America’s interests are intertwined with American ideals. The freedoms we enjoy–that are couched in inalienable rights–should not be exclusive to American soil. If rights are natural rights, they are born to all peoples in all lands.

The President is in a historically unique position. Without worry or concern about re-election, Trump should keep out the clutter of public opinion polls and act on his current ideological mandate to build a valuable legacy for himself–and, in turn, act on a foreign stage against regimes antithetical to our ideals and to the principles of self expression.

The war against Iran’s oppressive theocracy is about regime change. There is always a national sentiment that cries out against an objective, but a war conducted and won by America has almost always resulted in a regime change or alteration. Isn’t that why we engage in war? Regimes that are unfriendly to our interests, our way of life, and our fundamental belief of natural rights that should not be repressed are the enemies of the American nation. We must have a moral imperative to act to relieve people’s suffering around the world.

President Trump needs to refrain from the rhetoric and concentrate on the task. A nuclear weaponized Iran and its regime that funds proxy wars throughout the region are a dangerous combination. Moreover, this regime that also murders its opposition creates the urgency of the moment.

Trump’s recent pronouncement that “a whole civilization will die” if Iran’s regime does not accept our terms is posturing that is not needed, useful, or effective. It’s a declaration that devalues our cause and undermines our moral imperative. Trump needs to act so that the Iranian society and its people will flourish and not be under the foot of an oppressive theocracy. Trump is not encumbered with election issues (maybe Democratic impeachment concerns depending on the midterms) so it’s time for decisive foreign policy efforts that will not just define his legacy, but also cement America’s footprint on the world’s stage. It’s a tall order in search of a leader. Is Trump such a leader?