in an alternate universe

President Trump's tactics in foreign policy could work. By raising the prospect of unilateral American military action against North Korea, despite the horrendous costs, he might make Kim Jong-un more willing to accept some kind of diplomatic outcome. Maybe the DPRK "peace offensive" is not just to buy more time to build warheads and missiles but maybe also to negotiate a settlement.

Maybe Trump's disparagement of NATO can serve as an added incentive for member countries to spend more on the common defense.

Maybe the prospect of a collapse of NAFTA will lead to improvements for some U.S. trading sectors.[Though it is hard to imagine Trump defending any compromises, anything less than total surrender by Canada and Mexico. He signed, but loudly criticized, the compromise spending package.]

Maybe the threat of tariffs on aluminum and steel will prompt concessions on other trade issues with friendly nations now given a few weeks to lobby and plead.

Maybe the threat of $60 billion in other tariffs to punish the Chinese for thefts of intellectual property and related trade actions will lead Beijing, which has shown amazing restraint so far, to take steps to reduce its trade deficit with America.

Maybe the threat to abrogate the Iran nuclear deal will succeed in getting the other signatories to pressure Iran for additional restraints on its missile programs and maybe modest changes to the nuclear provisions.

I can envision a world in which many of these outcomes are possible. But the world we do live in also includes a president who is unpredictable, inconsistent, and unreliable. Why should any foreign leader trust that Trump would keep any agreement he signs?  Why should even our closest partners expect Trump to follow through on commitments that become politically unpopular? The U.S. president is weakening his own leverage and undermining his own policies by his radical behaviors.