Foreign policy wasn’t exactly a major theme of the president’s annual speech to Congress. The few issues he mentioned were carefully tailored to his reelection campaign. The problem is, Trump is running on successes that aren’t actually successes and mostly ignoring the failures. What’s more, he doesn’t seem to have plans for what to do next.

The clearest example was Trump’s invitation to Juan Guaidó, who has been recognized by the United States and more than 50 other governments as the legitimate president of Venezuela. Trump even hosted him at the White House on Wednesday.

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“We are supporting the hopes of Cubans, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans to restore democracy,” said Trump, when introducing Guaidó in the House chamber on Tuesday. “Please take this message back that all Americans are united with the Venezuelan people in their righteous struggle for freedom.”

The Venezuelan people know perfectly well that the U.S. government’s year-old effort to help Guaidó overthrow the sitting Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, has all but failed. The Trump administration has exhausted the resources it is willing to devote to pressuring Maduro, who currently faces no serious challenge to his power.

Guaidó has become a prop for a failed policy. But it’s great politics, especially in Florida — where Latino voters lean heavily anti-Maduro — and especially if Trump ends up running against Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who opposes the recognition of Guaidó and identifies as a democratic socialist.

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Trump’s remarks on the Middle East peace process are another example of pure political spin on a policy that is dead in the water. He touted son-in-law Jared Kushner’s peace plan, which has been soundly rejected by the Palestinians and many of their biggest Arab supporters, making it a nonstarter. But the fact that it heavily favors Israel makes it red meat for the donors. Few believe it is likely to bring any significant progress.

In a theatrical gesture during the State of the Union, Trump surprised the wife of a soldier who had been deployed to Afghanistan by reuniting them during the speech, a genuinely touching moment. But his words on America’s longest war were telling.

It’s not the job of the United States “to serve other nations as law enforcement agencies,” he said. “We are working to finally end America’s longest war and bring our troops back home.”

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Administration sources say that Trump will probably make good on that promise, bringing home thousands of soldiers from Afghanistan before the election. But he may have to do so without completing peace negotiations with the Taliban, effectively conceding to their demands without getting anything in return.

On China, Trump touted his “phase one” trade deal as a mission accomplished, even though its benefits for trade between the two countries remain unclear at best. It also offers few remedies to China’s economic aggression. The administration says it is starting negotiations for “phase two,” but no one believes it has a real chance of bearing fruit this year.

“For decades, China has taken advantage of the United States,” Trump said on Tuesday. “Now we have changed that, but, at the same time, we have perhaps the best relationship we’ve ever had with China, including with President Xi [Jinping].”

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Only a few days ago, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called China the “central threat of our times.” Washington and Beijing are clashing on everything from technology to Hong Kong to the coronavirus outbreak. Again, Trump’s rhetoric doesn’t match the reality.

On Iran, Trump brought up the protesters and demanded the Iranian regime give up pursuing nuclear weapons, stop supporting terrorism and treat its people better. He took credit for sanctioning their economy and celebrated his killing of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani.

But he had only a few bland words about pursing negotiations with Tehran, which he has, in the past, claimed as his central goal.

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During his 2019 speech, Trump touted his then-upcoming second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi. This year, he didn’t even bring up North Korea, where his most public foreign policy gambit has completely stalled.

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Nor did he say anything about Syria, other than to celebrate the killing of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

To be sure, the Trump administration is trying to make progress on difficult issues, but officials know the president’s political statements cannot be contradicted, even when good policy requires it. As long as Trump resists changing strategies to respond to new events, he is setting his own team up for failure.

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Trump’s approach makes sense politically, so long as he and his team can keep it up for the rest of the year. But other countries are not standing still. As the election nears, Trump will be more risk-averse and less willing to acknowledge the realities around the world. That’s an opportunity bad actors are sure to exploit.