Case Study: Presidential Travel Abroad Presidents bear much of the responsibility for making and executing foreign policy. One tool used by presidents is traveling abroad. This travel can take the form of state visits for bilateral summits between two countries; large-scale multilateral meetings such as the G8 or World Economic Forum; or visits to military personnel stationed abroad. Presidents work in concert with their advisors in the Department of State and other agencies to plan international travel. These trips are often used to signal shifts in relationships, such as President Obama's trip to Cuba after opening up relations between that country and the United States. Likewise, meetings of the G8 and G20 leaders provide opportunities to work with multiple heads of state and various governments at one time. Some trips are to pay respects at a funeral and memorial, such as President George W. Bush attending the funeral of Pope John Paul II, or President Clinton attending the funeral of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995. However, foreign travel must be balanced against domestic responsibilities; for example, in years where presidents have re- election demands, their foreign travel may decline. The foreign policy options available to a president also vary significantly as a function of external factors. The end of the Cold War shifted the focus of American foreign policy away from maintaining balance with the Soviet Union and its allies, to maintaining its position in an increasingly complex world. In the Clinton administration, the United States played a role in peace processes in Northern Ireland and in the Middle East. The attacks of September 11, 2001 during the Bush administration shifted American foreign policy onto a war footing, with the initiation of conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq requiring a shoring up of relations with major allies. The following Obama and Trump administrations were also put into a position to deal with the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. The Trump administration's fourth year in office also coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic around the world, limiting global travel. The image shows the number of days spent abroad by Presidents Clinton, Bush, Obama, and Trump, broken down by year in office. Review the image and answer the accompanying questions. Presidential Days Abroad 50 40- 30- umber of Days 20- Case Study: Presidential Travel Abroad election demands, their foreign travel may decline. The foreign policy options available to a president also vary significantly as a function of external factors. The end of the Cold War shifted the focus of American foreign policy away from maintaining balance with the Soviet Union and its allies, to maintaining its position in an increasingly complex world. In the Clinton administration, the United States played a role in peace processes in Northern Ireland and in the Middle East. The attacks of September 11, 2001 during the Bush administration shifted American foreign policy onto a war footing with the initiation of conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq requiring a shoring up of relations with major allies. The following Obama and Trump administrations were also put into a position to deal with the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. The Trump administration's fourth year in office also coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic around the world, limiting global travel. The image shows the number of days spent abroad by Presidents Clinton, Bush, Obama, and Trump, broken down by year in office. Review the image and answer the accompanying questions. Presidential Days Abroad 50- 40- 30- Number of Days 20- 10- 0- Clinton Trump Bush Obama President Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year B U.S. State Department True or False: No president shown in the image spent less than ten days abroad in his first term. O True False In which year of their term did both Presidents Bush and Obama spend the largest number of days abroad? Year 3 Year 6 Year 1 Year 8 Which of the following patterns of foreign travel characterizes both Presidents Clinton and Bush? Both spent more time abroad in their first four years in office than in their last four years in office. Both spent more time abroad in year 5 than in year 6. Both spent more time abroad in year 4 than in year 5. Both spent less time abroad in their first year in office than in their second and third years