Trump emphasizes ‘America First’ in rare foreign policy speech
Frontrunning US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump laid out the main points of his foreign policy in a 45-minute speech in Washington on Wednesday.
The main points were as follows:
A Trump administration will pursue a policy of “America First.” According to the candidate, US President Obama and former Secretary of State Clinton concentrated on building up other countries while the US has deteriorated and lost the respect it deserves. He said "we're getting out of the nation-building business" but expressed readiness to help other nations if they contribute to the effort. The Republican frontrunner said Obama and Clinton focused on protecting other countries’ borders without protecting those of the US, calling their foreign policy “a complete and total disaster”
Under a Trump administration, he said, every foreign policy step would be based on the interests of the US and the American people. The US has to conduct its foreign policy based on an understanding that other countries have to abide by Washington’s rules, and every country that seeks US military and economic assistance needs to cooperate, according to the candidate. He stated that the rebuilding of the US military’s strength would be a main part of his foreign policy.
Regarding ties with Moscow and Beijing, Trump said “I believe an easing of tensions…with Russia, from a position of strength only, is possible,” and that “China respects strength,” but the US has lost all respect by “letting them take advantage of us.”
The real estate mogul also slammed Obama and Clinton’s Middle East policy, accusing them of creating chaos that allowed Russia, Iran and ISIS to step into the void. He said Obama and Clinton transformed Iran into a “great power” in the Middle East and vowed that “Iran would not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon.”
Trump cited Israel as an example of what he called the damage that Obama has caused to US foreign policy. He asserted Obama is not a friend of Israel and accused the president and Clinton of pushing regional allies such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt away from Washington.
Regarding the war on ISIS, Trump said “Their days are numbered. I won’t tell them where and I won’t tell them how. We must as a nation must be more unpredictable.” He vowed to fight all terror organizations and radical Islam, and said NATO needs to be rebuilt so that it can conduct the war against ISIS and Islamic radicalism.