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Dear Board of Directors,

Below, please find some quick highlights – as it relates to our issues – of Hillary Clinton’s national security speech from earlier this week. She certainly incorporated our message.

As we did with our summary of Donald Trump’s major foreign policy speech, we will post the quotes on our Impact 2016 website, but only share our analysis with our leadership.

Liz

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IMPACT 2016 UPDATE – FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY
Clinton’s Major National Security Address
June 4, 2016

On Thursday in San Diego, Secretary Hillary Clinton delivered a major foreign policy speech contrasting her positions with Donald Trump, the first time since his emergence as the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party. While she highlighted her own approach on national security and foreign policy, Clinton took the opportunity to largely use his own words against him.

As a central pillar of her foreign policy platform, Clinton stated: “we need to embrace all the tools of American power, especially diplomacy and development.” Over the course of the 35-minute speech, she laid out seven pillars for her foreign policy approach – three of which related directly with our issues: strengthening diplomacy and development to prevent crises, renewing alliances, and linking her view of “smart and principled foreign policy” to an expression of American values.

The speech was clearly a preview of her general election strategy against Trump as Commander-in-Chief, hoping to influence swing voters – especially suburban woman – highlighting how she sees him as “temperamentally unfit” for the presidency.

Here are some key policy and political takeaways from the speech:

1. Clinton framed the election as a choice between a "fearful America" and a "confident America."

Clinton contrasted her vision for global engagement with an inward America, saying “if America doesn’t lead, we leave a vacuum.” Interestingly, DC insiders report that the phrase “Confident America” has been Speaker Paul Ryan’s tagline for his policy framework for the House and Senate races.

2. Clinton offered a full endorsement of development and diplomacy.

Clinton used the speech to reinforce her commitment to global development and diplomacy as key pillars of her foreign policy, saying these elements of national power are essential “on the front lines solving problems before they threaten us at home.” She called for pursuing diplomacy as part of her strategy to deal with the root causes growing turmoil and political division in the Middle East.

Clinton’s campaign also highlighted a fact sheet<https://www.hillaryclinton.com/briefing/factsheets/2015/10/20/hillary-clintons-record-of-leadership/> on her track record that included her legacy on promoting development and diplomacy. It foregrounded women’s empowerment as the “key to development abroad and security and economic growth at home,” saying it would be “central to American foreign policy.” It focused on how she put economics “at the heart of the State Department agenda” and “modernized our development and assistance programs,” as well as expanded the number of people receiving HIV/AIDS treatment.

3. Clinton placed allies and alliances at the center of American leadership.

Clinton noted that America must “stick with our allies” and focused on Donald Trump’s views on NATO and Israel. While agreeing that allies need to increase their defense spending, she declared allies are “part of what makes us exceptional” and spoke of our soldiers working side-by-side with diplomats in the fight against terrorism.

Clinton was no doubt cognizant of the economic populism on both sides of the political spectrum when she repeated “concerns” about trade agreements, but she also sought to strike a balance by warning of a “trade war” with China. She stressed her ability to be tough with rivals as “countries that share some common interests with us amid many disagreements.”

4. Clinton grounded her worldview in American values.

Clinton said global engagement represents the core of American values, saying “we never ever stop trying to make our country and the world a better place” and invoking Lincoln that America is “the last, best hope of Earth.” She added, “America stands up to countries” that mistreat women and minorities.

Also of note: A development professional, Ellen Gustafson, introduced Clinton before her speech. A former World Food Program spokeswoman and co-founder of FEED, the San Diego-based leader works closely with Lauren Bush, President George H. W. Bush’s granddaughter and George W. Bush’s niece.

5. Clinton impressed pundits, largely with silence from the GOP foreign policy community.

Even some of her critics praised Clinton for doing what his Republican primary rivals struggled with: using his words against him. Many pundits gave her high marks with one even saying it was her “best speech ever.” The speech may be a timely boost for her just before the California primary, though Bernie Sanders didn’t miss the opportunity to take a swipe.

Shortly after the speech, George W. Bush’s communications chief – Nicolle Wallace – observed that “this was a speech that Jeb Bush or Marco Rubio or Lindsey Graham could have given.” Some Republicans even lamented that they wished Jeb had given a similar speech during the primary.

Paul Ryan’s endorsement of Trump during her remarks attempted to distract media chatter from the speech, though some saying his tacit endorsement appeared weak. Typical GOP validators and voices have been relatively quiet so far. It will be interesting to see who from the foreign policy community speaks up for Trump on the Sunday shows this weekend