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The possible assassination of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul has unleashed forces in Washington that place Trump's brutal bend against the values of traditional American foreign policy until his death. the toughest political test to date.
And there are more and more signs that the White House may not be able to counter growing congressional pressure for action punishing Saudi Arabia and putting a damper on its ruthless de facto leader, Mohammed bin Salman, operated by the White House as the American anchor in the East Center.
The president, with his negotiating instinct, has inserted Saudi Arabia into a foreign policy aimed at leveraging US power for material gain rather than for global moral leadership – and argued that the current crisis should not not derail a multi-billion dollar business relationship.
But Congress's anger over the fate of Khashoggi, based in the United States, is such that efforts are being made to impose a change of strategy on Trump, like the legislator who imposed sanctions on Russia against his will.
"If they dragged this man into this consulate, they used it in medieval times, he was killed, he was cut into pieces and they sent a killing team to kill him and make him all this would be a scandal, "said Republican Sen Marco Rubio said on CNN's" State of the Union. "
"The mere fact of being allied in an important mission, which restricts Iran's expansion into the region, can not allow us to neglect or distance ourselves from it." This compromises our ability to defend morality and human rights. of man worldwide, "Rubio said Sunday.
Saudi Arabia denied killing Khashoggi but did not provide any evidence to explain his disappearance from the consulate.
That said, Rubio has invited Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to cancel his trip to a conference on investments in Saudi Arabia later this month.
"I do not think any of our government members should go there and pretend things are going as usual until we know exactly what happened here." "said Rubio.
The White House has sought to slow down the trial process against the Saudi government in the context of immediate sanctions requests.
The rise of Trump as a political leader in 2016 has been a lesson on how the orthodoxy of traditional foreign policy, in which moral values and the sense of American exceptionalism and the Democratic leadership – a thought tension represented by Rubio – was overshadowed by the Republican party.
But the Saudi drama seems to be a rare case where claims for action are developing beyond political divisions, which could threaten the foreign policy primacy of the president and constitute a real constraint on his power.
"I think that one of the most solid things we can do is not only to prevent military sales, not only to impose sanctions on Saudi Arabia, but especially to come out of this terrible and terrible war in Yemen led by the Saudis, "said Sanders.
Signs indicate that political pressures are beginning to emerge and that a president who has little concern for press freedom and who has been repeatedly sued before autocrats accused of blatant attacks human rights, becomes uncomfortable with repeated questions about the issue.
"Perhaps mainly because this man was a journalist.You'll be surprised to hear, there is something really terrible and disgusting about it if it is, then we will have to see "Trump told Lesley Stahl. in an interview of "60 minutes" broadcast Sunday. "We will get to the bottom of things and there will be severe punishment."
The White House did not specify the nature of the measures that Saudi Arabia could take. In the same interview, the president also reiterated his concern that any action should not derive from his own mercantilist instincts – a willingness to use US power to maximize economic gains.
"It depends on the sanction, I'll give you an example, they order military equipment, everybody in the world wanted this order, Russia wanted it, China wanted it, we wanted it, everything, everything," says Trump.
When Stahl asked him if he would ignore that order, the president said, "I'm going to tell you what I do not want to do." Boeing, Lockheed, Raytheon, I do not want to hurt anyone. I do not want to lose an order like this, and you know what, there are other ways to punish, to use a word that is hard enough, but it's true . "
The reshaping of US foreign policy by the president to prioritize job creation and financial strength is a central part of his argument before voters before the midterm elections in three weeks.
He claims that after being scammed by friends and foes for decades, the US is now negotiating tough contracts and claiming huge victories in trade disputes with Canada, Mexico, China, Japan and the United States. South Korea and Europe. makes moderate changes.
The question of what the United States derives from their relations with the Saudis is therefore not simply geopolitical, as has been the case for most former presidents – it is at the heart of Trump's identity in as a politician.
Trump came to power over a question the presidents have been asking for decades: how to reconcile the poor record of human rights in Saudi Arabia, his tolerance of radical Islam and his stifling of dissent with its pivotal role in foreign policy and the vital strategic position of the United States in a treacherous region and key partner in areas such as counterterrorism, Afghanistan and intelligence cooperation.
The President 's solution initially seemed to be to ignore him, after going to the kingdom on his first trip abroad and marveling at the sumptuous welcome that he had. He had received.
Trump and his son-in-law and Middle East repairman, Jared Kushner, enthusiastically embraced the Crown Prince, or MBS as he is popularly known, and saw the kingdom as a powerful partner in a new effort to intensify the confrontation with Iran in the region.
They enthusiastically accepted the idea that MBS was a young reformer anxious to build a new, more open realm, to be less dependent on oil and to transform the leadership of a country run in recent years by older kings. and in trouble.
But in practice, MBS alarmed US allies with its erratic behavior, escalated the Saudi war in Yemen against Iran-backed rebels who killed thousands of civilians and unleashed a public health crisis , and has revealed himself to be a fierce leader who has caused many tricky questions for the White House.
All of this created an embarrassing visual for Trump, proud of his strong leadership and his ability to earn the respect of strong foreign men, MBS's behavior seeming little concerned with the increasingly difficult political issues that plague the world. he poses to his American friends.
For a politician such as Trump, who exceptionally protects his own image, the feeling of being embarrassed could be one more reason to master the MBS than the disgust for actions that go against the traditional values of the American foreign policy.
And if Trump does not act, it is clear that leading congressional figures are convincingly arguing that, despite Trump 's "America – at – first" approach, the values of traditional foreign policy still have some influence on Capitol Hill.
James Rubin, a former deputy secretary of the Clinton government, told CNN on Sunday that lawmakers would seek to destroy the sense of "arrogance" shown by MBS in its apparent belief that it could to do so condemning Washington.
"I guess they're surprised in Saudi Arabia, they should not expect that kind of reaction, otherwise they would not have done it," Rubin said. "Whether President Trump does it himself or is imposed on him by majorities in both houses, I think this puts an end to the relations of the United States of Saudi Arabia."
