{"id":862,"date":"2026-06-02T10:08:28","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T10:08:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=862"},"modified":"2026-06-02T10:08:28","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T10:08:28","slug":"admins-charm-offensive-cant-fix-trumps-damage-its-too-little-too-late","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=862","title":{"rendered":"Admin’s charm offensive can’t fix Trump’s damage \u2014it’s ‘too little, too late’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

An esteemed historian and foreign policy scholar argued that President Donald Trump\u2019s Secretary of Defense is trying to walk back his boss\u2019 geopolitical mistakes \u2014 but it\u2019s too little, too late.<\/p>\n

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\u201cDefense Secretary Pete Hegseth stunned U.S. adversaries and allies at this year\u2019s Shangri-La Dialogue of defense officials in Singapore,\u201d The Wall Street Journal\u2019s Walter Russell Mead wrote on Monday. \u201cHe did it in the most unexpected way: by delivering a thoughtful and sensible speech on the future of American defense policy in Asia.\u201d<\/p>\n

After praising Hegseth for giving \u201ccoherent and well-informed answers to questioners from large and small powers across the region,\u201d he added that Trump\u2019s hostile rhetoric toward Asian countries has undermined the effectiveness of Hegeth\u2019s message. Even as the Defense Secretary urged a balance of powers and increased military spending in part to promote stability in the region.<\/p>\n

\u201cConceptually at least, this approach is significantly more useful than Joe Biden\u2019s emphasis on human rights and democracy promotion,\u201d Mead argued. \u201cThe Trump administration\u2019s approach to the region has its problems, some severe, but an approach incorporating moralistic posturing at the expense of important allies, aggressive rhetoric toward Beijing, and a steadfast refusal to match China\u2019s steady military buildup was unlikely to end well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet despite these efforts to shore up the administration\u2019s popularity in Asia, Mead pointed out that Hegseth has not addressed a serious problem.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany Asian allies were left wondering how far Washington will back Mr. Hegseth\u2019s soothing words with serious deeds,\u201d Mead wrote. \u201cHow does the secretary reconcile the value of speaking softly with his boss\u2019s social-media presence? Does introducing uncertainty into American arms sales to Taiwan increase stability in the region? How does a mercurial trade policy contribute to the stable prosperity the Trump administration ostensibly seeks? Is America under Mr. Trump\u2019s leadership the farseeing custodian of the international balance of power or the bull in the china shop of a precarious world order?\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more DC insiders don\u2019t believe Trump\u2019s latest promise \u2014 and that could hurt him<\/a><\/p>\n

He added, \u201cMr. Hegseth\u2019s speech was silent on the subject on most of his audience\u2019s minds: the U.S.-Iran war, which has closed the Strait of Hormuz to the sea traffic on which most of the region\u2019s economies depend. Fuel and fertilizer price hikes are creating political and economic stress across the region. Remittances from Gulf-based workers in countries ranging from the Philippines to Pakistan provide vital support to families and economies. Asian views of the Trump administration will be shaped far more by the outcome of the conflict in the Gulf than by anything Mr. Hegseth or any other American official says in forums.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mead\u2019s position is a contrast to that taken last month by the conservative commentator Will Saletan from The Bulwark. Saletan argued that Hegseth is literally the \u201cdumbest person in the Trump administration.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho do you think is the dumbest person in the Trump administration?\u201d Saletan said. “Now, I know it’s a tough contest, but I think the answer might be Pete Hegseth. I want to show you just how petty and incompetent and stupid this guy is.\u201d As one example, he noted that Hegseth seems more focused on fighting domestic political wars than on the Iran war, even failing to name either the current or former head of Iran half an hour into his briefing on the war.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmerican troops are out there fighting the enemy, but Pete Hegseth is back here fighting a domestic political war,\u201d Saletan wrote, describing the Iran war as having \u201cdelivered twice the air power of shock and awe of Iraq in 2003, minus Paul Bremer and the nation building.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cOkay, we are in a war, we’re literally in a war, and this guy is trying to have a size contest with the last Republican administration.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more WSJ accuses Trump of being anti-Israel<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An esteemed historian and foreign policy scholar argued that President Donald Trump\u2019s Secretary of Defense is trying to walk back his boss\u2019 geopolitical mistakes \u2014 but it\u2019s too little, too late.\u201cDefense Secretary Pete Hegseth stunned U.S. adversaries and allies at this year\u2019s Shangri-La Dialogue of …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":861,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-862","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nAdmin's charm offensive can't fix Trump's damage \u2014it's 'too little, too late' - Next Address America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=862\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Admin's charm offensive can't fix Trump's damage \u2014it's 'too little, too late' - 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