"Privately praised," "publicly caricatured"

Victor Davis Hanson writes in Real Clear Politics about Donald Trump's unorthodox approaches to the Middle East, EU, and China.

Trump got little credit for these revolutionary changes because he is, after all, Trump -- a wheeler-dealer, an ostentatious outsider, unpredictable in action and not shy about rude talk.

But his paradoxical and successful policies -- the product of conservative, antiwar and pro-worker agendas -- are gradually winning supporters and uniting disparate groups.

After all, the U.S. is beefing up its military but using it only sparingly. It hits back hard at enemies but does not hit first. For Trump, being conventional is dangerous; being unpredictable is far safer.

For all Trump's tough talk, his ace in the hole is American soft power -- based on a globally dominant economy, its global lead in the production of gas and oil, and an omnipresent cultural juggernaut.

For Trump the ex-television star, wars translate into bad ratings and worse optics. As a businessman, he believes needless conflicts get in the way of money-making and win-win deals.

The result of the new orthodoxy is that the U.S. has become no better friend to an increasing number of allies and neutrals, and no worse an adversary to a shrinking group of enemies. And yet Trump's paradox is that America's successful new foreign policy is as praised privately as it is caricatured publicly -- at least for now.

Read more here.