There's a shutdown in D.C., clashes in Chicago, and economic worries bubbling up all over the country — but at the moment, President Trump seems more focused on Gaza, Ukraine and Venezuela.
Why it matters: Trump's foreign policy focus — and the peace deals he has secured — is the stuff of presidential legacy building. But the globe-trotting risks blurring his "America First" brand.
- "Voters reward winners and Trump is a winner," said one Trump adviser. "But I'd be lying if I said none of us wish he would talk a little more about the economy and things back home."
- Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was more blunt: "It's a revolving door at the White House of foreign leaders when Americans are, you know, screaming from their lungs," the Georgia Republican, who has increasingly grown estranged from Trump, told Axios.
Driving the news: This was Trump's biggest foreign-policy week, starting with his departure for Israel on Sunday after sealing the Gaza deal.
- Monday: Addressed Israel's Knesset, then flew to Egypt to sign the historic peace agreement.
- Tuesday: Arrived back in D.C. and met with Argentina's president to discuss a $20 billion currency bailout, then announced the U.S. military had destroyed another alleged drug-running boat off of Venezuela, killing six people.
- Wednesday: Confirmed he'd authorized covert action in Venezuela.
- Thursday: Spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin for more than two hours, and announced he'd soon meet him in person to discuss the path to peace in Ukraine.
- Friday: He'll meet Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, at the White House.
What's next: Later this month, Trump will travel to South Korea to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, and likely to Budapest to meet Putin.
The big picture: Presidents often pivot to foreign policy in their second terms, though several current and former Trump advisers told Axios he was just as engaged globally the first time around.
- Then as now, there was a regime change push in Venezuela, a hugely provocative attack involving Iran, a trade war with China, and a major diplomatic push in the Middle East.
What they're saying: "In Trump 1, he didn't have the team. He didn't know the ropes. All of that is different now," said a foreign policy adviser from Trump's first term who still speaks with the president.
- "This is a continuation of the first term, but with two big exceptions: the wars in Gaza and Ukraine. He inherited that mess. He had no choice but to clean it up," said another first-term adviser.
- "No matter what he says, Trump is still thinking about a Nobel Prize. Being Time Magazine's Man of the Year still matters to him," said a third person who worked in Trump's first term and still advises administration officials.
Friction point: Most in the MAGA movement cheered Trump's Gaza deal, but some aspects of his foreign policy have riled influential supporters, particularly his decisions to bomb Iran and to open America's checkbook to arm Israel and bail out Argentina.
- The gun boat diplomacy in Venezuela also challenges the America First ethos, as a military intervention overseas with undercurrents of regime change.
- Just in the past 24 hours, a family in Trinidad accused the U.S. of murdering a relative who was a fisherman, not a drug runner, and the military commander overseeing the military operation abruptly resigned amid whispered concerns in the Pentagon about its legality.
To be clear: Trump didn't abandon domestic policy this week. On Thursday, Trump touted a plan to lower the cost of fertility treatments. The day before, he announced a new crime crackdown.
Reality check: Many of Trump's allies think demonstrating American might overseas plays well back home, and note that it hasn't kept him from pursuing a very aggressive domestic agenda.
- "We're not isolationist, we're non-interventionist," Steve Bannon told Axios, referring to the America First movement. Bannon gushed over the images from the Gaza peace conference: "Every guy wanted to touch him, wanted to be in a shot with him."
- "Were talking peace in the Middle East and possibly world peace," said Republican pollster Adam Geller. "It's not a zero-sum game. He didn't lose anybody because of his focus on foreign policy or not talking about the economy for a week."
