Trump: US aid dollars only for America’s friends

The longest foreign policy passage of Donald Trump’s first State of Union address as US President early Wednesday was devoted to North Korea, whose “reckless pursuit of nuclear weapons could very soon threaten our homeland,” he said. “We are waging a campaign of maximum pressure to prevent that from ever happening.” Most of the speech was a record of his first year’s domestic achievements. He also described China and Russia as rivals that must be confronted with “unmatched power,” and called on Congress to fix “fundamental flaws” in the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. “America stands with the people of Iran in their courageous struggle for freedom,” he said. On his decision to recognize Jerusalem as capital of Israel, Trump said he was determined to punish countries that split with the US over “America’s sovereign right to make this recognition,” adding: “That is why, tonight, I am asking Congress to pass legislation to help insure American foreign-assistance dollars always serve American interests, and only go to America’s friends.” Trump said he had reversed his predecessor’s decision to close the US military detention center at Guantanamo Bay, because “in the past, we have foolishly released hundreds of dangerous terrorists, only to meet them again on the battlefield — including the ISIS leader, Al-Baghdadi.”