Will Venezuela Define the Second Trump Administration?

Justin Logan Presidents are drawn to foreign policy in part because courts and Congress won’t constrain them as they do on domestic policy. Presidential historians love ambitious foreign policies, and rank war presidents higher than peace presidents . So it’s understandable that presidents often look to make their legacies through foreign policy.

, In the postwar era, though, for every Reagan, there is an LBJ, a Bush, or a Carter. The lure of foreign policy is that it promises national greatness; the peril is that the foreigners get a vote, and things may be sketchier than people tell you. To use a Trumpian metaphor, what can seem like a clear shot to the fairway can wind up in thick rough.

In Venezuela, the president who prides himself on being unpredictable has surprised again. In a well