--- title: Rebranding America is Very On-Brand description: Today, the United States is perhaps the most consistently evolving brand on the planet. canonical: https://time.com/5934554/america-foreign-policy-changes/ author: Philip Elliott article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2021-01-29T18:55:35.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T09:39:16.463Z article:section: Politics og:title: Rebranding America is Very On-Brand og:description: Today, the United States is perhaps the most consistently evolving brand on the planet. og:url: https://time.com/5934554/america-foreign-policy-changes/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt05120759bc8a1a1e/698a16cb97cdffc4766bba3b/joe-biden-executive-order.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2400 og:image:height: 1350 og:image:alt: President Joe Biden signs the last of a series of executive actions during a ceremony at the White House in Washington on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, after outlining his racial equity agenda. (Doug Mills/The New York Times) og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Rebranding America is Very On-Brand twitter:description: Today, the United States is perhaps the most consistently evolving brand on the planet. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt05120759bc8a1a1e/698a16cb97cdffc4766bba3b/joe-biden-executive-order.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Rebranding America Is Very On-Brand > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=9cec9ea5-13a7-424f-86d0-4a5520cd897c&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Twice a week | time.com/newsletters, September 2026 | | Written by | Philip Elliott, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The policy influence ecosystem. 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Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=9cec9ea5-13a7-424f-86d0-4a5520cd897c&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/subscribe?i=9cec9ea5-13a7-424f-86d0-4a5520cd897c&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's politics newsletter? D.C. Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=9cec9ea5-13a7-424f-86d0-4a5520cd897c&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1)  by [Philip Elliott](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott Senior Correspondent Jan 29, 2021 6:55 PM UTC  President Joe Biden signs the last of a series of executive actions during a ceremony at the White House in Washington on Jan. 26, 2021. President Joe Biden signs the last of a series of executive actions during a ceremony at the White House in Washington on Jan. 26, 2021. Doug Mills—The New York Times/Redux  by [Philip Elliott](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott Senior Correspondent Jan 29, 2021 6:55 PM UTC _This article is part of the The DC Brief, TIME’s politics newsletter. Sign up_ [_here_](https://cloud.newsletters.time.com/newsletter%5Fopt-in?qs=3a19a0aa35903a2d9f214b74f69a37910b58de73cf3f2b89adc123fac024f0478c72f91010ae9d01f08f46c616068cab3e74726837cd2cce70dac3796e46c2b4) _to get stories like this sent to your inbox every weekday._ Ping-pong diplomacy broke the Cold War fever. In the United States, ping-pong policy followed, and more or less has set the course of what the nation stands for ever since. Today the United States is perhaps the most consistently evolving brand on the planet. For better or for worse, a lot of the United States’ posture hinges on what party’s leader is sitting in the White House. Every four or eight years, the incoming administration resets America’s policy priorities. When Democrats are in power, foreign NGOs are allowed to discuss abortion. When Republicans are in power, recipients of U.S. dollars had better keep their clams shut. When Democrats have the keys, big, multilateral agreements are the order of the day. When Republicans have the reigns, buckle in for very targeted agreements. Denizens of Washington are conditioned to this whiplash by the time the Inauguration scaffolding starts to go up on Capitol Hill. But rarely is it felt quite so acutely around the world as it is right now, as President Joe Biden starts to unravel the policies of former President Donald Trump. Biden’s long list of executive orders has returned the United States to a massive climate regime signed in Paris. He is letting foreign NGOs that receive U.S. money talk about abortion again. He has rejoined the World Health Organization, scrapped a ban on travel from majority-Muslim countries and pushed pause on deportations for those in the country illegally but don’t pose an immediate security risk. It’s part of the beauty and the freak-show that is American democracy. Voters decide every four years who wields the nearly-unlimited executive power of the U.S. presidency. With the results usually contingent on a few thousand votes in a small group of states, America’s global footing hinges on how a handful of folks feel on a Tuesday in November. Whether or not America believes in rising sea levels pivots based on a few precincts in Pittsburgh. Access to abortion in Albania depends on whether the College Democrats in Athens, Ohio, can activate the list. Whether the wall in Juárez remains may depend on who walks the West Wing Colonnade in the morning. So far, nine full days into office, Biden has signed [42](https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/29/politics/biden-executive-orders-climate-health-care-coronavirus-immigration/index.html) executive actions, most of them undoing steps taken by his predecessor. The pace is not unexpected for the early days in a presidency, but it’s a jarring reminder of just how much depends on who picks up a pen in the Oval Office. Four years ago, Donald Trump signed a slew of executive orders that unspooled moves by Barack Obama, who in his first weeks worked to reverse George W. Bush’s agenda. It’s entirely predictable, and an important reminder that America’s values are often based on one person’s actions. It’s also a reminder that so much of what it means to be an American hinges on who U.S. voters send to Washington, especially the White House. As much as Americans want to believe there is a set standard about what _Americanness_ is, it’s often a byproduct of a messy democratic process. Four years under Trump showed just how malleable it can be — indifference to Russian meddling, international isolationism on science, stern refusal on global trade. With Biden coming to power, it’s mostly a return to what came before Trump. But in four or eight or 12 years, it can just as easily go back. As we consider what _America_ means, it’s worth remembering this: ping-pong can be fast, and unforgiving. _Make sense of what matters in Washington._ [_Sign up for the daily D.C. Brief newsletter._](https://cloud.newsletters.time.com/politics?source=dc%5Farticle) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5934554/america-foreign-policy-changes/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5934554/america-foreign-policy-changes/"},"headline":"Rebranding America Is Very On-Brand","datePublished":"2021-01-29T18:55:35.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T09:39:16.463Z","description":"Today, the United States is perhaps the most consistently evolving brand on the planet.","url":"https://time.com/5934554/america-foreign-policy-changes/","keywords":["The D.C. 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