Donald Trump and the Future of American Foreign Policy: Syria, Iran and North Korea

Abstract

Based on semantic and psycholinguistic analyses of President Trumps’ speeches and tweets, this chapter finds that his temperament has a remarkable similarly to that of Kaiser Wilhelm II, which was a highly depressive one. However, Trump’s temperament, like that of George W. Bush, is counter-balanced by the non-depressive temperaments of his influential inner circle of advisors, including Vice-President Michael Pence, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, and Secretary of Defense James Mattis. As a result, Trump is unlikely to underestimate the resolve of America’s current adversaries, Syria, Iran and North Korea, but there remains a substantial risk that he may overestimate it.