“At the basis is this sense that we’ve been suckered by the world,” said Kathleen Hicks, director of the international security program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Hicks said the arrangements that Trump decries are beneficial to the United States.

“We are on the good end of the deal when it comes to why do we have alliances. Sure, we like to help other countries, but it’s for entirely selfish reasons,” she told The Hill.

“Why do we have military bases in Asia? We have used military bases in Asia because we want to be able to deal with threats far from our shores rather than close to our shores,” she added. “That’s smart and it’s actually a lot cheaper.”

Trump’s willingness to go against the grain goes beyond the troop arrangements with other nations, with his positions defying easy categorization.