Sarkozy: From George Washington to Donald Trump, the eternal return of isolationism. From the founding of the United States in 1776 until World War I, the majority of heads of state preferred to avoid engagement in international affairs.
“America First” was not a fringe movement; it had more than 800,000 members, created in the prestigious halls of Yale University. Isolationism is a common denominator and a potentially electoral factor in American history and its domestic politics.