US election 2020: Has Trump delivered on his promises?

Before: Mr Trump has long called for the US to leave the Middle East. On the 2016 campaign trail, he said the region was a “total and complete mess” and wished the government had spent the trillions of dollars in the US instead.

His talk of an end to US military deployments overseas predates his presidential run. In 2013, he tweeted: “Our troops are being killed by the Afghanis we train and we waste billions there. Nonsense! Rebuild the USA.” That same year, he said the US should “stay the hell out” of the Syrian war.

After: In September 2017, the Trump administration announced the deployment of 3,000 additional troops to Afghanistan. Mr Trump said his approach would be based on conditions on the ground. In Syria, the US had led a coalition against IS along with Syrian Kurdish and Arab fighters, with around 2,000 troops on the ground.

By December 2018, Mr Trump ordered the withdrawal of all US troops from Syria, though about half the troops, approximately 500, still remain.

Mr Trump recently said he has plans to further cut troops in Afghanistan – after reducing them to 8,600 from 13,000 over the spring and summer – before the 3 November election. In February, US and Nato allies agreed to withdraw all troops from the country within 14 months if Taliban militants uphold a new peace agreement.

The president’s efforts to pull down troops has at times been met with criticism from his own officials. Following Mr Trump’s announcement of a Syria withdrawal in part prompted the resignation of US Defence Secretary James Mattis.