Yeah but I'm wondering whether we should make it that easy for China and Russia to ruin our relationships with our allies.

I think that is more to do with the current administrations "style" of state-craft (basically the "big stick" method)

> he current administrations "style" of state-craft (basically the "big stick" method)

Trump is the antithesis to "speak[ing] softly and carry[ing] a big stick" [1]. He's constantly blustering and retreating from his own lines.

The last big-stick President we had was probably Obama, though Bush and H. W. strike closer to the mark.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_stick_ideology