TRUMPIAN UNPREDICTABILITY CUTS BOTH WAYS
Further afield, friends and allies in the Indo-Pacific must surely be on notice now. It is a different US, with a different understanding of and approach to “commitments” made by Mr Trump’s predecessors. While it does not necessarily mean that the US will be walking back on these commitments, it does suggest that Washington will now approach them very differently.
The sooner these friends and allies adjust to this new reality, the less painful it will be for them (at least in terms of not having misplaced expectations).
Finally, how about the adversaries of the US? To be sure, some would have watched what unfolded with great amusement, perhaps even glee. But the thing about unpredictability is that it cuts both ways. Trumpian winds of change may seemingly be blowing one direction now, away from hitherto “ironclad commitments” made to allies, but they could just as well blow back in that direction if the stars align for the US president.
The Trump-Zelenskyy spat reinforced what we already know, but it still comes with a jolt: There is a new tone to American diplomacy – perhaps even a new nature to it – and this will likely be with us for some time yet.
And it should put to rest any doubt that the Vance campaign for the 2028 presidential elections has already begun.
Joseph Chinyong Liow is Dean of College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
