Trump administration officials contrasted their foreign policy doctrine with that of former President Barack Obama in a series of exchanges with Jeffery Goldberg of The Atlantic.
“The Trump Doctrine is, ‘We’re America, Bitch.’ That’s the Trump Doctrine,” a senior White House official told Goldberg, who published the exchanges Monday, explaining “Obama apologized to everyone for everything. He felt bad about everything,” adding that Trump “doesn’t feel like he has to apologize for anything America does.”
Another Trump associate told Goldberg, “There’s the Obama Doctrine, and the ‘Fuck Obama’ Doctrine,” adding. “We’re the ‘Fuck Obama’ Doctrine.” Obama famously gave Goldberg a lengthy interview near the end of his presidency in which he described his own doctrine as “Don’t do stupid shit” such as supporting the invasion of Iraq.
Obama often referenced this manta when critics castigated him for not attacking Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad for chemical weapons use despite promising to do so, and when attempting to reduce the U.S. military presence in Iraq and Syria.