U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Democratic Republic of the Congo's Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner and Rwanda's Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington D.C., June 27, 2025. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno/File Photo

Political scientist Laurence Nardon, head of the Americas program at the French Institute of International Relations, writes in Le Monde writes that President Donald Trump's disregarding of international law and established alliances in his foreign policy is angering his MAGA base.

Whereas Trump's first term foreign policy was a form of "new isolationism" in response "to the anger of the American middle class, frustrated by years of inconclusive wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and was implemented with relative consistency by the occupant of the White House," his approach to global affairs this time around is markedly different.

Trump's desire to expand U.S. territory with designs on, among other places, Greenland and Canada, is "an aggressive stance" "reminiscent of early imperialist presidents" William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt, Nardon explains.

"So far this approach has yielded few results," he writes.

"Since the very first months of his second term, Trump has demonstrated unexpected activity in major international issues," Nardon says.

"This marks the third 'Trump doctrine,' that of all-out diplomacy, which stands in complete contradiction to his previous hesitations, much to the dismay of his populist MAGA base, represented at the highest level by Vice President JD Vance," he explains.

Trump's approach to foreign policy, he explains, is to negotiate dubious deals, as seen in China, Ukraine, Gaza, and "also the 'seven or eight' regional conflicts that the president claimed to have resolved in recent months," Nardon says.

"In the fall, Trump also deployed the US fleet in the Caribbean to counter Venezuelan narco-terrorism, before raising the possibility of regime change in Caracas – even though regime change objectives were once his pet peeve," he writes.

Yielding what Nardon considers to be "mixed results," Trump's "method relies on power dynamics, disregarding international law and established alliances."

Siding with President Putin against NATO allies and aligning with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump has been the least successful in China, Nardon explains, "accepting a deal that was far from advantageous for his country."

Trump, he writes, is on a quest for a lot more than world peace.

"One might also consider that the billionaire cannot resist the hubris of exercising power on the world stage – where his words undeniably carry weight – and hopes to secure his place in the history books by winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 2026," he writes.

"Two things are certain: First, refusing to act would make him appear weak, which he would find intolerable. Second, the president has displayed much more confidence today in acting on the international stage than between 2017 and 2021," he adds.

The most certain, however, Nardon says, is that "Trump now has free rein," providing him ample opportunities "to conduct business and secure lucrative deals for personal gain, mixing the interests of the country with those of his own family," as especially seen in Gaza where his son-in-law Jared Kushner is pursuing real estate deals.

None of this appeals to Trump's reliably loyal base, however.

"His involvement in international affairs is not appreciated by his MAGA base. Along with the Epstein affair and the return of inflation, it has contributed to the disaffection," Nardon writes.

"The White House knows that a Republican defeat in November 2026 would weaken President Trump for the remaining two years. It could prompt him to abandon his third doctrine and refocus on domestic issues," he concludes.