From an essay in the May 25 Atlantic, "The Hollow Men," by George Packer. Whole essay very recommended.
"Some analysts argue that Trump is turning American foreign policy toward “realism”: a cold calculation that Ukraine falls in Russia’s sphere of influence, not ours; that defending an embattled democracy against a much larger and more powerful dictatorship depletes American resources without serving its interests; that, in an ever more multipolar world, the United States is overcommitted; that the U.S. should stop trying to uphold global rules and democratic values, and start acting like a traditional great power that uses its immense strength to secure specific interests.
These sound like rational claims, but they don’t describe Trump’s words and actions. There’s nothing realistic about aiding a dangerous adversary, undermining allies, breaking agreements, extorting concessions, threatening annexations, and destroying an order that has expanded American influence and made the past eight decades uniquely stable and prosperous in modern history. These are the policies of crude power worship, not realism. They are extensions of Trump’s character around the world, and they will destroy all that Americans and others value about this country, turning the United States into a shinier image of Putin’s Russia. It doesn’t matter whether Trump is an actual Russian asset; he’s already doing the work of one."
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine...graham/682110/