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Dear USGLC Board Members,

As you saw, Donald Trump gave a major foreign policy speech yesterday, likely in an effort to calm the nerves of party leaders as he gets close to securing the GOP nomination.

While there are a lot of differing opinions about the overall speech, below is a quick (and confidential) summary on what his address revealed about his positions on our issues. He did not address foreign aid directly but he was asked specific questions about the subject during a FOX News town hall with Greta Van Susteran last night. I have included a few highlights of that interview as well.

For more details on all the current candidates, visit the USGLC’s Impact 2016<http://www.impact2016.org/candidates/> web site.

Best,
Liz Schrayer
USGLC

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IMPACT 2016 UPDATE – FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY
Trump Gives Major Foreign Policy Speech
April 28, 2016

In his most comprehensive and detailed foreign policy speech to date, Donald Trump outlined his worldview and vision by laying out his conviction that “our foreign policy is a complete and total disaster” and that his would be “based on American interests.” During the nearly 40 minutes of remarks hosted by the Center for National Interest, diplomacy got a strong nod and foreign assistance was not mentioned directly, although he repeated his frequent claim that “we’re rebuilding other countries while weakening our own.” In an interview yesterday evening with FOX News, Trump responded directly to questions on foreign aid.

Initial reactions from foreign policy experts have been mixed, with some of the usual suspects from both parties suggesting that Trump’s prescriptions were contradictory and lacked coherence. Yet, he got a big boost from Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, who said the remarks were “full of substance” and that he was “very pleased... a major step forward.”

A few key highlights on Trump’s view of U.S. engagement overseas:

“America First.” The speech was serious in tone, but contained few new policy specifics. Trump reinforced his theme of “America First” stating he would view the world through a “clear lens of American interests.” He closed by saying that as president “no American citizen will ever again feel that their needs come second to the citizens of a foreign country.” Many on the left immediately tried to link his remarks to the 1940s “American First” movement of Charles Lindberg – historically known for its anti-Semitic roots that attempted to thwart America’s involvement in World War II.

Diplomacy Foregrounded. Trump stated: “War and aggression will not be my first instinct. You cannot have a foreign policy without diplomacy.” Many of his examples of diplomacy were framed as “deal-making” – with China, Iran, or Russia. He also said we should “seek common ground based on shared interests.” In addition, he noted that he would be prepared to deploy America’s “economic resources” alongside “financial leverage and sanctions.”

Humanitarian Values Highlighted. Trump called America a “humanitarian nation” and said “we will always help save lives.” On the “persecution and even genocide” of Christians in the Middle East, Trump stated “we should always be ashamed for that.” Trump did not mention the growing refugee crisis in the Middle East, but, similar to previous comments, he said that if we work with the Muslim world in the broader fight against ISIS: “they have to appreciate what we’ve done for them.”

On “Nation Building.” Trump declared somewhat ambiguously: “We are getting out of the nation building business” but added that he would instead focus on “creating stability in the world” without citing many specifics outside of strengthening the military. Consistent with his past criticism of economic trade agreements, he continued to tie the rebuilding of other countries to the “theft of American jobs.”

Strategic Allies. Trump suggested that America will “continue forever to play the role peacemaker… be a great and reliable ally again.” He also noted that he would work with U.S. allies to “reinvigorate western values and institutions” as opposed to “universal values,” saying he is hesitant to promote democracy. Trump stressed that “your friends need to know that you will stick by the agreements that you have with them” – but also repeated his assertions that the countries we protect “must pay for the cost of this defense” or we “must be prepared to let these countries defend themselves.”

After the Speech, Trump on Foreign Aid at Town Hall:

In a FOX News town hall yesterday evening, Trump responded directly to questions on foreign assistance and humanitarian aid. Here are some of the key takeaways:

* Trump noted “if we don’t help” countries facing disasters, then it would create “bigger problems” – but he also said “we give money… a lot of help” to countries that “absolutely don’t deserve it.”
* When discussing aid to countries like Pakistan, he said “we don’t want to see total instability.” He added that aid to Pakistan goes “very much against my grain,” but he believes U.S. should continue it and get more in return.
* In the case of assistance to countries struggling with poverty, Trump said he would “try to keep some of these countries going” while underscoring the domestic and fiscal challenges facing the U.S.

Select Quotes from the Foreign Policy Speech:

* “War and aggression will not be my first instinct. You cannot have a foreign policy without diplomacy… truly signs of strength.”
* “The world is most peaceful and most prosperous when America is strongest. America will continue and continue forever to play the role peacemaker. We will always help save lives and indeed, humanity itself, but to play that role, we must make America strong again.”
* “We are a humanitarian nation, but the legacy of the Obama-Clinton interventions will be weakness, confusion, and disarray, a mess… We left Christians subject to intense persecution and even genocide. We have done nothing to help the Christian and we should always be ashamed for that lack of action.”
* “We need a long-term plan to halt the spread and reach of radical Islam… Events may require the use of military force, but it is also a philosophical struggle… We should work together with any nation in the region that is threatened by the rise of radical Islam, but this has to be a two-way street. They must also be good to us.”
* “I will work with our allies to reinvigorate western values and institutions instead of trying to spread universal values that not everybody shares or wants. We should understand that strengthening and promoting Western civilization and its accomplishments will do more to inspire positive reforms around the world than military interventions.”

Click here<http://time.com/4309786/read-donald-trumps-america-first-foreign-policy-speech/> for the full text of the speech.