In Praise of Having Permanent Enemies

By Abe Greenwald

Yesterday in Doha, Donald Trump spoke a bit about his philosophy of enemies. “I have never believed in having permanent enemies,” he said. “I am different than a lot of people think.”

As far as I can tell, that’s exactly what most people do think about Trump. He’s shown the world that he doesn’t believe in permanent enemies. In his first term, he started out threatening Kim Jong Un with annihilation. But before long, he was dining with Kim in the Demilitarized Zone and praising his “beautiful vision for his country.” Trump used to talk tough about Qatar’s financing of terrorism, too. Today he’s accepting Qatari planes and building a golf resort in Doha. 

In terms of personal enemies, the same applies. Trump once spoke with unrestrained venom about a whole raft of Republicans who then went on to become White House insiders the moment they praised him. Marco Rubio went from “little Marco” to secretary of state. 

We all know that Trump doesn’t believe in permanent enemies. Nor does he believe in permanent friends, as evidenced by his treatment of Ukraine. Trump doesn’t believe in anything permanent. That’s why the word “transactional” has become the default characterization of his thinking. If you enter a deal with Trump, and he gets something of value out of it, you’re a friend—at least for the moment. If he doesn’t, you’re an enemy—until you make it up to him. If John Bolton and Mike Pompeo came to Mar-a-Lago bearing gifts, Trump would restore their security details on the same day.

But the thing about having permanent enemies is, it’s not always up to you. This is what Volodymyr Zelenskyy was trying to convey to Trump and JD Vance in the Oval Office. Vladimir Putin has declared himself Ukraine’s permanent enemy. There’s no diplomatic way around that. You can talk peace and exchange gifts, but Putin is animated by a reading of Russian history that demands he conquer Ukraine. 

The regime in Iran has been leading chants of “Death to America” since 1979. And the theological foundations of its hatred of America (and Israel) go back centuries. That is, for all intents and purposes, permanent. And it was specifically toward Iran that Trump was directing his plea for friendship. 

If you’re the American president, and you don’t believe in permanent enemies, you’re in a dangerous state of denial. The intransigent enemies of the U.S. know that Trump doesn’t see them for what they are. That’s a powerful advantage over us, and they can exploit in many ways. 

We’re watching the Iranians do it now. Trump is treating Iran as if it’s a temporary adversary with whom we just need to work out some arrangements. As U.S.-Iran negotiations drag on, Iran buys time to rebuild the air defenses and restock the weapons that Israel destroyed in October. And with Trump, it’s not hard to keep talks going. Just follow the Putin playbook. While Putin has been flattering Trump with portraits and prayers, Russia has managed to push Ukraine out of Kursk and ramp up its attacks on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure.

Wrapping up his sermon on enemies yesterday, Trump noted, “Some of the closest friends of the United States of America are nations we fought wars against in generations past. Now they’re our friends and our allies.”

He’s right: We had to fight wars in order to make them allies. Once they surrendered or were toppled, there was a real peace at hand. Had we, instead, offered trade and investment opportunities to our permanent enemies, we’d be living in a very different world.

Abe Greenwald is the executive editor of COMMENTARY.