While we’re all focused on impeachment, Trump is upending U.S. foreign policy

While impeachment has been dominating the headlines, we are missing a set of stories about U.S. foreign policy that might prove equally consequential. The Trump administration has been doubling down on a policy of unilateralism and isolationism — a combination that is furthering the abdication of American leadership and the creation of a much more unstable world.

This week, talks between Washington and Seoul broke down after the Trump administration demanded a 400 percent increase in what South Korea pays for the stationing of U.S. troops in that country. The annual operating cost of the U.S. military presence there is approximately $2 billion. Seoul pays a little less than half that. Trump is asking for $4.7 billion.

Meanwhile, as the American president ruptures the relationship with one of our closest allies, Trump’s bizarre infatuation with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un continues. Trump has once again called off joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea, even as North Korea has launched 24 missiles this year, all in violation of U.N. resolutions. Last Sunday, Trump asked for another date with the North Korean dictator, tweeting, “See you soon!” The response from North Korea: yet another dis. A North Korean official said that the country is not interested in having “useless” meetings with Washington.

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