Trump won the 2016 Republican Primary for a myriad of reasons, some of which I’ve looked at here http://hanrott.com/blog/how-the-republicans-should-respond-to-trump/. But a crucial factor was the fact that he distinguished himself from other Republicans. Partly through his straight-talking manner. Partly through his support for entitlements, in contrast to a Republican establishment that wants to reduce them. Partly due to his opposition to free trade. But the most significant different between Trump and the his opponents was that Trump presented himself as a realist in regards to foreign policy. He eviscerated the other candidates for their support for the Iraq War, Jeb Bush especially. He wasn’t a non-interventionist per se, promising to ‘bomb the shit out of ISIS.’ But he vowed to put the national interest first, not spend billions of American dollars on fruitless foreign adventures.

It’s long been obvious that the war in Afghanistan can’t be won, simply because as soon as America withdraws, there’s nothing to guarantee the country won’t be taken over by the Taliban because they enjoy protection in Pakistan. Laurel Miller, who was until recently America’s leading diplomat in Afghanistan and Pakistan, agrees. Her explanation can be read in this excellent interview with Vox’s Sean Illing https://www.vox.com/world/2017/8/1/16049272/afghanistan-war-donald-trump-mattis-military. Yet Trump has backtracked on his past support for a realist foreign policy. As Miller points out, his new Afghanistan policy is little different from the neoconservatism/liberal internationalism that has defined America’s approach since the war started in 2001.

Trump’s u-turn on Afghanistan is yet another example of how his presidency is a complete failure, even on his own terms. The typical Trump voter wanted: proper job security, a substantial increase in the number of manufacturing and energy jobs, the repeal of Obamacare with ‘something ‘fantastic’, an America-first foreign policy and a considerable reduction in immigration. So far, none of those things have happened, or even are likely to happen between now and 2020. So what was the point in voting for Trump? Perhaps only the certainty that a Hillary Clinton presidency would be a continuation of the status quo. If neither Trump nor Hillary Clinton were serious about reforming a badly divided and indebted country, then American politics is truly broken.