President Trump has made a familiar mistake in the Middle East

President Trump promised to free America from the distorting influence of Saudi Arabia. Instead, they're closer than ever.

Trump in the Oval Office.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Another week, another implicit promise of President Trump's campaign broken.

Candidate Trump was totally free of the foreign policy establishment, we were told. And this meant he would free America from the distorting influence of Saudi Arabia. Or at least that's what some people convinced themselves. It turns out it wasn't true.

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Michael Brendan Dougherty

Michael Brendan Dougherty is senior correspondent at TheWeek.com. He is the founder and editor of The Slurve, a newsletter about baseball. His work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, ESPN Magazine, Slate and The American Conservative.