Donald Trump’s foreign policy has usually been considerably more creative than his predecessors. He certainly has shown more flexibility than Joe Biden’s feckless diplomatic approach. His Middle East policy differs from Biden’s in that it places greater emphasis on Arab states. Trump’s initiatives on the Russia-Ukraine war show greater flexibility than Biden’s insistence on greater NATO involvement in negotiations.

But recently, Trump has drifted into fanciful, more exotic policies. Annexation of Greenland, the Venezuela gambit, and the use of Tariffs as a weapon have interrupted his usual sensible approach to diplomacy. Moreover, the moves to stabilize Venezuela seem to have no long-range goals. Gone is the mention of American oil dominance since much of the oil has been sold and the money given to the Venezuelan government. And it resolves none of the political problems and offers no clue as to who will govern the country in the future. Right now, the present government in Caracas is Nicolas Maduro’s regime minus Maduro.

Add on speculation about Cuba and any other nation in the Western Hemisphere, and it resembles a policy with Imperial ambition without any means of realizing that goal. Trump bounces around from region to region, and he seems distracted. He has tried to stop wars, but he has little patience for the long game. If it is an Empire in progress, it lacks an Emperor.

Some of these maneuvers are sound, give Trump his due, but he does not like being lured into long-term military adventures. But he cannot just hang around. As well, the status of Maduro is uncertain, given that Trump’s original reason for intervening was alleged drug trafficking, which has been proven not to be so. As for elections, he appears more annoyed at the Venezuelan opposition than the Bolivarian Revolution. And American personnel are frozen in place offshore.

Negotiations with Iran also send confusing signals. The Islamic Republic was on the ropes a month ago with riots in the streets that were repressed with maximum violence. Again, human rights and democracy were discarded in favor of stability and no doubt material returns. Trump distrusts quick intervention with some reason. True, it is better than what George W. Bush did in Iraq, which was to encourage Ahmad Chalabi, a man with no standing, to push a neo-conservative agenda, which he was incapable of completing. The aging Shah in exile is in a similar position and might not be the ticket. At least Steve Witkoff is less impressed by the liberator of the month club. But it’s still messy, with no endgame.

Perhaps Trump seeks to prioritize and finish one problem at a time. Grand diplomacy and fancy ideas can lead to overstretch, which history shows to be extremely risky. Besides, Trump seems to have no taste for it, yet he cannot close the numerous deals he is attempting to make.

With so many cakes on the griddle, Trump must be aware that when it comes to foreign policy, he is on the clock. Americans not only dislike “forever wars,” they have little patience with entangling involvements. The longer these disputes last, the greater the danger to American security.