Grand Strategy in the Age of Trump: An Optimistic View

Drawing on President Trump’s statements as a candidate, and relating the status of the world in 2017, this work discusses the origins and evolution of a Grand Strategy for the Trump administration. This work helps to fill a gap in the literature by bringing together an assessment of Trump’s mindset as a candidate with his actions as President, most notably the formulation of the National Security Strategy of the United States of America. The studies assessment is that Trump had a well-formulated Grand Strategy in mind, nested in the “America First” ideology of the campaign, and that he has learned and modified the strategy based on experience. Finally, proposals for moving forward with a Grand Strategy for the future are considered.