Opinion – It’s Time to Restore Back-Channel Diplomacy |
There is a parallel universe where Donald Trump is the grand strategist of his own imagination. In this world, Trump remains bombastic, manipulative, and irresistibly drawn to casting himself as a risk-taker thriving on high-stakes moves. But he also somehow absorbs the hard-nosed realism and political sensitivity of his decade-long pen pal, Richard Nixon. The result is a leader who still craves spectacle, but understands the power of secrecy and executive control. Consequently, Trump would quietly work with key countries to hammer out a trade bloc instead of waging tariff wars. He would increase pressure on Venezuela while privately negotiating with regional actors on drugs, migration, and oil, rather than theatrically arresting Nicolás Maduro. He would turn to trusted intermediaries to open a back-channel with Iran on terrorism and nuclear issues, instead of launching unprovoked strikes. He would even revive the tentative back-channel diplomacy he once pursued with North Korea during his first term.
The hypothetical grand strategist Trump would conduct U.S. foreign policy in a manner that is bold yet deliberately restrained: he would audaciously engage adversaries on controversial issues, but wait months – perhaps years – for negotiations to bear fruit before claiming victory. This prudent diplomatic style would be the near opposite of the “maximum publicity” ethos on display in Trump: The Art of the Deal, his self-promotional best-selling book. The reality, unfortunately, is that there is little evidence that Trump is capable of even the slightest degree of deferred gratification. In his second term, Trump has doubled........