New York Notebook

US1 -Trump Global, no holds barred

Donald Trump is tearing up the United States’ foreign policy playbook and inventing his own. He supports Brexit, would open dialogue with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un and says he would be “sort of a neutral guy” in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. For Western allies, Trump has a particularly strong message: pay-up and pull your weight. He is tired of “free riders” in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization not contributing their fair share of funds and troops. NATO, he says, is “obsolete”. And he could indeed pull the plug on it if allies don’t shape up. Sounds dramatic? Not coming from the man who said he was not sure that he and David Cameron would have a “very good relationship”. Under Trump’s “America First” policy, traditional alliances would be re-written, as would major international deals. He has vowed to tear up the TPP and COP21 and wants Obama’s historic Iran nuclear deal to be scrapped on day one. But don’t worry: he’s promised to deliver much, much better deals – for America, at least.