When then-candidate Donald Trump debuted his "America First" foreign policy, he argued that the nation under President Barack Obama had "absolutely no respect" and was being "laughed at all over the world."
For Trump, little is more important than appearing to project strength. And in that April 2016 speech, he vowed again and again that he alone would make America strong again.
The challenge now facing President Trump is that his waffling public response to the Oct. 2 killing of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi and his consistent acclaim for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman could leave a lasting impression of weakness.