Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016/Foreign affairs

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Donald Trump announced his presidential run on June 16, 2015.[1]



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Donald Trump
2016 Republican presidential nominee
Running mate: Mike Pence

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The overview of the issue below was current as of the 2016 election.
In polls conducted during the 2016 campaign, voters ranked foreign affairs as a less important campaign issue than the economy, jobs, healthcare, terrorism, and immigration.[2] Nevertheless, a number of serious continuing and developing foreign policy challenges were discussed throughout the election: the continuing threat of ISIS, North Korea's missile testing, U.S.-China relations, Iran, and Russian aggression.[3]

See what Donald Trump and the 2016 Republican Party Platform said about foreign affairs below.

Republican Party Trump on foreign affairs

  • Trump met with Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, in New York on September 26, 2016. Netanyahu was in the country for the United Nations General Assembly meeting. A statement from the Trump campaign said, “Mr. Trump recognized that Israel and its citizens have suffered far too long on the front lines of Islamic terrorism. He agreed with Prime Minister Netanyahu that the Israeli people want a just and lasting peace with their neighbors, but that peace will only come when the Palestinians renounce hatred and violence and accept Israel as a Jewish State.”[4]
  • On September 19, 2016, Trump met with Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi during a special meeting of the United Nations General Assembly. According to a readout of the meeting released by the Trump campaign, Trump “thanked President el-Sisi and the Egyptian people for what they have done in defense of their country and for the betterment of the world over the last few years. He expressed great respect for Egypt’s history and the important leadership role it has played in the Middle East.” He also, “expressed to President el-Sisi his strong support for Egypt’s war on terrorism, and how under a Trump Administration, the United States of America will be a loyal friend, not simply an ally, that Egypt can count on in the days and years ahead.”[5]
  • Responding to a questionnaire from Scientific American on September 13, 2016, Trump said, “Space exploration has given so much to America, including tremendous pride in our scientific and engineering prowess. ... We should also seek global partners, because space is not the sole property of America. All humankind benefits from reaching into the stars.”[6]
  • At a "commander-in-chief" forum on NBC News on September 7, 2016, Trump discussed his views Russian president Vladimir Putin, saying, “[H]e does have an 82 percent approval rating, according to the different pollsters, who, by the way, some of them are based right here. … I think I’d be able to get along with him. … If he says great things about me, I’m going to say great things about him. I’ve already said, he is really very much of a leader. I mean, you can say, oh, isn’t that a terrible thing — the man has very strong control over a country. … Now, it’s a very different system, and I don’t happen to like the system. But certainly, in that system, he’s been a leader, far more than our president has been a leader.”[7]
  • Trump met with Mexico president Enrique Peña Nieto on August 31, 2016. The meeting was in private, but afterwards Trump and Peña Nieto held a brief press conference and took questions. Trump reiterated his opposition to NAFTA and illegal immigration as well as his support for strong immigration laws and border security, saying, “having a secure border is a sovereign right and mutually beneficial.” But Trump also commented on his personal relationship with Mexicans, his desire to keep jobs in the western hemisphere, and the United States’ relationship with Mexico.[8]
    • Personal relationship with Mexicans and Mexican-Americans: “And I happen to have a tremendous feeling for Mexican Americans not only in terms of friendships, but in terms of the tremendous numbers that I employ in the United States and they are amazing people, amazing people. I have many friends, so many friends and so many friends coming to Mexico and in Mexico. I am proud to say how many people I employ.”
    • Jobs in the western hemisphere: “There are many improvements that could be made that would make both Mexico and the United States stronger and keep industry in our hemisphere. We have tremendous competition from China and from all over the world. Keep it in our hemisphere. Workers in both of our countries need a pay raise, very desperately. … When jobs leave Mexico, the U.S. or Central America and go over seas, it increases poverty and pressure on social services as well as pressures on cross border migration.”
    • U.S.-Mexico relations: “The United States and Mexico share a 2,000-mile border, a half a trillion dollars in annual trade and one million legal border crossings each and every day. We are united by our support for democracy, a great love for our people and the contributions of millions of Mexican Americans to the United States.”
  • During an interview that aired on ABC News on July 31, 2016, Trump said that he was not concerned with Russian President Vladimir Putin entering Ukraine. “He’s not gonna go into Ukraine, all right? You can mark it down. You can put it down. You can take it anywhere you want.” When host George Stephanopoulos countered that Russia had already entered Ukraine, Trump said, “OK― well, he’s there in a certain way. But I’m not there. You have Obama there. And frankly, that whole part of the world is a mess under Obama with all the strength that you’re talking about and all of the power of NATO and all of this. In the meantime, he’s going away. He take ― takes Crimea.” He added that he heard that Crimeans “would rather be with Russia than where they were.”[9]
  • In an interview with The New York Times published on July 20, 2016, Trump “called into question whether, as president, he would automatically extend the security guarantees that give the 28 members of NATO the assurance that the full force of the United States military has their back. For example, asked about Russia’s threatening activities that have unnerved the small Baltic States that are among the more recent entrants into NATO, Mr. Trump said that if Russia attacked them, he would decide whether to come to their aid only after reviewing whether those nations ‘have fulfilled their obligations to us.’”[10]
    • Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) rejected Trump’s proposal that NATO allies will only be defended by the United States if they have “fulfilled their obligations to us.” McConnell said, “NATO is the most important military alliance in world history. I want to reassure our NATO allies that if any of them.” He added, “I think he's [Trump] wrong on that. I don't think that view would be prevalent or held by anybody he might make secretary of state or secretary of defense."[11]
    • During an interview with NBC host Chuck Todd on July 24, 2016, Trump said that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s comments that Trump’s questioning of NATO was a "rookie mistake” was "100 percent wrong.” Trump added, “Frankly it's sad. We have NATO, and we have many countries that aren't paying for what they're supposed to be paying, which is already too little, but they're not paying anyway. And we're giving them a free ride."[12]
  • On July 16, 2016, Donald Trump attributed the attempted coup in Turkey over the weekend to failed policies of the Obama administration. He said, “We’re seeing unrest in Turkey, a further demonstration of the failures of Obama-Clinton. You just have to look ― every single thing they’ve touched has turned to horrible, horrible, death-defying problems.”[13]
  • On June 24, 2016, Trump appeared in Turnberry, Scotland, to celebrate the reopening of his golf course and resort there. His trip came the day after the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, sparking a major drop in the value of the pound. Trump highlighted the potential benefit of this plunge for businesses like his, saying, “Look if the pound goes down, they're gonna do more business. You know, when the pound goes down, more people are gonna come to Turnberry, frankly, and the pound has gone down, and let's see what the impact of that is." A protester at the event also attempted to pass out golf balls with swastikas on them. He said, “These are the new balls available from the clubhouse — part of the new Trump Turnberry range.”[14]
    • The Clinton campaign released a national ad on June 25, 2016, criticizing Trump’s comments. "Every president is tested by world events but Donald Trump thinks about how he can profit from them," the ad’s narrator says.[15]
    • “Clinton is trying to wash away her bad judgement call on BREXIT with big dollar ads. Disgraceful!” Trump responded in a tweet.[15]
  • In an interview on June 5, 2016, Trump appeared to reverse his position on Libya, saying that he would have supported a “surgical” strike to remove Muammar Qadhafi. During a debate in February, Trump had previously held, “We would be so much better off if Qadhafi would be in charge right now." Asked to explain this shift in policy, Trump said, “I wasn't for what happened. Look at the way — I mean look at with Benghazi and all of the problems that we've had. It was handled horribly. … I was never for strong intervention. I could have seen surgical where you take out Qadhafi and his group.”[16]
  • Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger disputed Trump’s assertion that he approved of his foreign policy approach. “On foreign policy, you identify many key problems. I do not generally agree with the solutions. One-shot outcomes are probably not possible,” Kissinger said of Trump on May 27, 2016.[17]
  • President Barack Obama (D) said on May 26, 2016, at a press conference in Japan that world leaders were concerned with Donald Trump’s candidacy. “They're rattled by him and for good reason. Because a lot of the proposals that he's made display either ignorance of world affairs or a cavalier attitude or an interest in getting tweets and headlines instead of actually thinking through what is required to keep America safe,” Obama said.
  • Responding to Obama's critique, Trump said,"When you rattle someone, that's good."[18]
  • Trump was scheduled to meet with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger on May 18, 2016, to discuss his foreign policy. According to The Washington Post, “Meeting with Kissinger has become a rite of passage for many ambitious Republicans, especially those who land on the party’s presidential ticket. Sarah Palin had a high-profile meeting with him in 2008 when she became the GOP vice-presidential nominee, seeking his counsel and association with his credentials.”[19]
  • London’s newly elected mayor, Sadiq Khan, who is the first Muslim to hold the office, criticized Trump’s plan to ban all Muslims from entering the country “until political leaders can ‘figure out what is going on’ with jihadist terrorism.” Kahn wrote on Twitter, “Trump’s ignorant view of Islam could make both our countries less safe. It risks alienating mainstream Muslims. London has proved him wrong.”[20]
  • Trump said on May 5, 2016, that he supported Britain leaving the European Union (EU). “I think the migration has been a horrible thing for Europe. A lot of that was pushed by the EU. I would say that they’re better off without it, personally, but I’m not making that as a recommendation. Just my feeling,” he said.[21]
  • On May 2, 2016, Pakistani Interior Minister Chaudry Nisar Ali Khan said in a statement that Trump “should learn to treat sovereign nations with respect” after he said in an interview last week that he would get Shakeel Afridi released “in two minutes” if he were president. Afridi has been in prison for five years since assisting the CIA in locating Osama bin Laden. “Pakistan is not a colony of the United States of America,” Khan said[22]
  • On April 27, 2016, Donald Trump delivered prepared remarks on foreign policy at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C. He said that the overarching theme of his administration would be “America first,” criticized the Obama administration for a “list of humiliations” on the international stage, and made the following policy points:
    • On democracy in the Middle East, Trump said, “We went from mistakes in Iraq to Egypt to Libya, to President Obama’s line in the sand in Syria. Each of these actions have helped to throw the region into chaos and gave ISIS the space it needs to grow and prosper. Very bad. It all began with a dangerous idea that we could make western democracies out of countries that had no experience or interests in becoming a western democracy.”
    • On the financial responsibilities of America’s allies, Trump said, “Secondly, our allies are not paying their fair share, and I’ve been talking about this recently a lot. Our allies must contribute toward their financial, political, and human costs, have to do it, of our tremendous security burden. But many of them are simply not doing so. … In NATO, for instance, only 4 of 28 other member countries besides America, are spending the minimum required 2 percent of GDP on defense. … The countries we are defending must pay for the cost of this defense, and if not, the U.S. must be prepared to let these countries defend themselves. We have no choice.”
    • On preventing terrorism and defeating ISIS, Trump said, “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. … The struggle against radical Islam also takes place in our homeland. There are scores of recent migrants inside our borders charged with terrorism. … We must stop importing extremism through senseless immigration policies. … And then there’s ISIS. I have a simple message for them. Their days are numbered. I won’t tell them where and I won’t tell them how. We must … as a nation be more unpredictable. We are totally predictable. We tell everything. We’re sending troops. We tell them. We’re sending something else. We have a news conference. We have to be unpredictable. And we have to be unpredictable starting now. But they’re going to be gone. ISIS will be gone if I’m elected president. And they’ll be gone quickly. They will be gone very, very quickly.”
    • On increasing military spending, Trump said, “Secondly, we have to rebuild our military and our economy. The Russians and Chinese have rapidly expanded their military capability, but look at what’s happened to us. Our nuclear weapons arsenal, our ultimate deterrent, has been allowed to atrophy and is desperately in need of modernization and renewal. And it has to happen immediately.”
    • On modernizing NATO’s mission, Trump said, “After I’m elected president, I will also call for a summit with our NATO allies and a separate summit with our Asian allies. In these summits, we will not only discuss a rebalancing of financial commitments, but take a fresh look at how we can adopt new strategies for tackling our common challenges. For instance, we will discuss how we can upgrade NATO’s outdated mission and structure, grown out of the Cold War to confront our shared challenges, including migration and Islamic terrorism.”[23]
  • During a meeting with “reporters from Jewish and Israel-focused publications and Orthodox activists” on April 14, 2016, Trump was asked how he would refer to the West Bank. Instead of answering, Trump said, there are "many words that I've seen to describe it. … Jason, how would you respond to that?" Jason Greenblatt is “the chief legal officer for the Trump Organization.” According to CNN, “Many Israelis call the area, which their government controls, by the biblical names of Judea and Samaria, terms often embraced by pro-Israel activists and evangelical Christians.”[24]
  • In a wide-ranging interview with The New York Times on March 25, 2016, Trump discussed economic policy, national security and foreign affairs.
    • Trump said that he would consider stopping oil purchases from Saudi Arabia unless the country offers soldiers to join the ground fight against the Islamic State or “substantially reimburse[s]” the U.S. for its military protection.
    • According to The Times, Trump would also “be open to allowing Japan and South Korea to build their own nuclear arsenals rather than depend on the American nuclear umbrella for their protection against North Korea and China.”
    • Discussing when America was last at its height of power, Trump pointed to Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency at the turn of the century.
    • On ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Trump initially said he did not want to “specifically” address any policy because he “would love to see if a deal could be made.” He later clarified this statement, noting that he supported a two-state solution with the caveat that “the Palestinian Authority has to recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state.”[25]
  • On March 24, 2016, Trump continued to criticize the mission and expense of NATO. He tweeted that the alliance “is obsolete and must be changed to additionally focus on terrorism as well as some of the things it is currently focused on” and that the U.S. shoulders “a disproportionate share” of its cost.[26]
  • During a press conference on March 22, 2016, the leadership of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) condemned Trump’s direct attacks against President Obama in his speech on March 21. “We say, unequivocally, that we do not countenance ad hominem attacks, and we take great offense to those that are levied against the president of the United States of America from our stage said. While we may have policy differences, we deeply respect the office of the president of the United States and our president, Barack Obama. We are disappointed that so many people applauded a sentiment that we neither agree with nor condone,” said AIPAC President Lillian Pinkus.[27]
  • During a campaign rally on December 19, 2015, Trump said of U.S.-Russia relations, "I mean you look, we're all tough guys, but wouldn't it be nice if like Russia and us could knock out an enemy together? Russia has plenty of problems, but I'll tell you what, if Putin likes me, and he thinks I'm a good, smart person, which, I mean I hope he believes it." Trump added. "I mean I am brilliant actually ... If he says something positive, that's a good thing, that's not a bad thing."[28]
  • Trump returned the compliment to Vladimir Putin on December 18, 2015, after the Russian president lavished praise on Trump the day before. On MSNBC's Morning Joe Trump said,"When people call you 'brilliant' it's always good, especially when the person heads up Russia." After the program's hosts pointed out that Putin kills journalists, political opponents and invades countries, Trump still embraced the Russian leader, NBC News reported. "At least he's a leader unlike what we have in this country," Trump said, adding "Our country does plenty of killing also."[29]
  • On December 17, 2015, Russian President Vladimir Putin praised Trump, saying, "He's a very colorful person. Talented, without any doubt. But it's not our affair to determine his worthiness. That's up to the United States voters. … He wants to move to a different level of relations, to more solid, deeper relations with Russia. And how can Russia not welcome that? We welcome that. … As for his internal political issues and his turns of speech which he uses to raise his popularity, I repeat, it’s not our job to judge them.”[30]
  • A petition to ban Trump from entering the United Kingdom has received 300,000 signatures, CNN reported on December 9, 2010. Since it has passed the 100,000-signature threshold to be considered by the Parliament's Petitions Committee, the House of Commons has reported that committee will consider whether to place it up for debate on January 5, 2016.[31]
  • Trump said he did not believe Russia was directly involved in shooting down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in 2014. “They say it wasn't them. It may have been their weapon, but they didn't use it, they didn't fire it, they even said the other side fired it to blame them. I mean to be honest with you, you'll probably never know for sure,” he said on October 14, 2015, after Dutch investigators announced the plane had been shot down with a Russian-made rocket and warhead.[32]
  • Appearing on Fox News on September 8, 2015, Trump said the United States should accept some refugees from Syria. “I hate the concept of it, but on a humanitarian basis, you have to. This was started by President Obama when he didn't go in and do the job he should have when he drew the line in the sand, which turned out to be a very artificial line. But you know, it's living in hell in Syria. There's no question about it. They're living in hell, and something has to be done,” Trump said.[33]
  • In an interview with the Daily Caller published on September 7, 2015, Trump stated that the United States “lost a lot of credibility” when it did not back the former president of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, when he was ousted in 2011 and that he supported opening relations with Cuba.[34]
  • During Trump's presidential bid announcement on June 16, 2015, he warned that China is not only economically but also militarily outpacing the United States. Trump stated, "[China is] building up their military to a point that is very scary. You have a problem with ISIS. You have a bigger problem with China."[35]
  • Trump argued in 2014 that European countries should be more engaged than the United States in addressing Russian military intervention in the Ukraine.[36]
  • In his 2000 book, The America We Deserve, Trump cautioned against becoming "involved in a long-festering conflict for humanitarian reasons. If that's our standard, we should have troops stationed all over Africa, and much of Asia as well."[37]

Recent news

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See also

Footnotes

  1. The Wall Street Journal, "Donald Trump Enters 2016 Presidential Race," June 16, 2015
  2. PollingReport.com, "Problems and Priorities," accessed September 13, 2016
  3. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named WSJ
  4. ABC News, "Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump Meet With Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu," September 26, 2016
  5. Donald J. Trump, "Readout of Donald J. Trump's meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi," September 19, 2016
  6. Scientific American, "What Do the Presidential Candidates Know about Science?" September 13, 2016
  7. Time, "Read Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump’s Remarks at a Military Forum," September 7, 2016
  8. The Washington Post, "Donald Trump’s Mexican press conference, annotated," August 31, 2016
  9. The Huffington Post, "It Appears Donald Trump Doesn’t Know About The Crimea Annexation Or Doesn’t Care," July 31, 2016
  10. The New York Times, "Donald Trump Sets Conditions for Defending NATO Allies Against Attack," July 20, 2016
  11. Politico, "McConnell: Trump 'wrong' on NATO," July 21, 2016
  12. CBS News, "Donald Trump on Muslim ban "expansion," possible Roger Ailes campaign role," July 24, 2016
  13. The Huffington Post, "Trump Blames Clinton, Obama For Chaos In Turkey And France," July 16, 2016
  14. NPR, "Make Britain Great Again? Donald Trump's Remarkable Reaction To 'Brexit'," June 24, 2016
  15. 15.0 15.1 CNN, "Clinton ad knocks Trump over Brexit response," June 26, 2016
  16. Politico, "Trump shifts position on Libya," June 5, 2016
  17. TIME, "Donald Trump Says Henry Kissinger Backs His Foreign Policy Stance—But He Begs to Differ," May 27, 2016
  18. CNN, "Trump on Obama critique: 'When you rattle someone, that's good'," May 26, 2016
  19. The Washington Post, "Donald Trump to meet with Henry Kissinger, GOP’s foreign-policy eminence," May 16, 2016
  20. The New York Times, "Sadiq Khan, London's Muslim Mayor, Calls Trump 'Ignorant About Islam'," May 11, 2016
  21. The Guardian, "Donald Trump backs Brexit and says UK 'better off without' EU – as it happened," May 5, 2016
  22. The Washington Post, "Pakistan calls Donald Trump ‘ignorant’ after Bin Laden comments," May 2, 2016
  23. The New York Times, "Transcript: Donald Trump's Foreign Policy Speech," April 27, 2016
  24. CNN, "Donald Trump skips West Bank answer," April 14, 2016
  25. The New York Times, "In Donald Trump’s Worldview, America Comes First and Every Body Else Pays," March 26, 2016
  26. Eliza Collins, Politico, "Trump: 'It is amazing how often I am right'," March 24, 2016
  27. Foreign Policy, "AIPAC Condems Donald Trump Speech: 'We Take Great Offense'," March 22, 2016
  28. ABC News, "Donald Trump: Vladimir Putin's praise is 'a good thing'," December 19, 2015
  29. NBC News, "Trump Continues His Embrace of Putin," December 18, 2015
  30. ABC News, "Russian President Vladimir Putin Praises Donald Trump as 'Talented' and 'Very Colorful'," December 17, 2015
  31. CNN Politics, "Petition to ban Trump from UK passes 300K, could be debated in Parliament," December 9, 2015
  32. CNN Politics, "Donald Trump says Russia isn't to blame for MH17, despite evidence," October 15, 2015
  33. Politico, "Trump calls for taking in Syrian refugees," September 9, 2015
  34. Daily Caller, "Donald Trump on His Nuclear Doctrine, Democracy Promotion And Why He Refuses To Use Term ‘Supreme Leader,’" September 7, 2015
  35. The Wall Street Journal, "Donald Trump Transcript: ‘Our Country Needs a Truly Great Leader,’" June 16, 2015
  36. WTOP, "Donald Trump: Contempt for America won’t help Ukraine relations," July 22, 2014
  37. Trump, Donald. (2000). The America We Deserve. Los Angeles, CA: Renaissance Books. (page 142)
  38. Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  39. Republican Party, "The 2016 Republican Party Platform," accessed August 24, 2016