https://www.washingtonpost.com/opini...2b1_story.html
Other presidents have understood that the United States has gained, disproportionately, from a system in which it helps keep the peace without keeping crabbed accounts on its national ledger. Mr. Trump sees his duty as the issuance of ill-defined demands for “fairness” on countries that, if they so chose, could tick off their own long lists of U.S. economic practices that do not please every single one of their domestic constituencies. Mr. Trump’s bone of contention, Canada’s admittedly unwise and protectionist dairy “supply management” policy, illustrates the point, since the United States also has elaborate programs to prop up its dairy farmers, to protect sugar planters, and so on.
Meanwhile, Mr. Trump remains indefatigably conciliatory toward Russia, which he proposed to readmit to the G-7. This is consistent with his admiration for strongman rule and with his transactional, amoral notion of relations with other countries, but it would contradict punishments that Western countries, including the United States, have just imposed for Russia’s unconscionable assassination attempt in Britain. And it would reward Moscow at a time when its interference in the 2016 election remains unresolved.
“We have a world to run” was Mr. Trump’s justification — which will come as a surprise to countries that have not agreed to be “run” by him, or Russia, or the other G-7 members, for that matter. If it is the United States’ portion, in partnership with other peer nations, to lead, that imposes a responsibility to do so in more than its own narrow self-interest.