As with his first term in office, US President Donald Trump has chosen the Middle East as the location for his first official state visit. But the focus of the visit this time around and the geostrategic circumstances Trump faces eight years after his first official visit are quite different.

Islamic radicalism is no longer the priority security issue it was at the time; armed conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza are proving difficult for American diplomacy to shape, despite President Trump’s election boasts regarding his ability to solve them; and Washington has initiated a trade war with the world in general, and China in particular.