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What might a second Trump White House foreign policy look like?
It can be difficult to find a signal in the noise of the former president’s often scattergun pronouncements. Elbridge Colby, a former U.S. Defense Department official who is often touted as someone who could have a significant role in a Republican White House, has long been arguing for the United States to focus more on Asia than Europe, more on China and less on Ukraine. “Why are we spending all this time dealing with Europe? Of course, I don’t want to abandon Europe, but I’m dealing with the reality that we’re facing. There simply are constraints.”
His views have gained currency among several Republican politicians, including Sen. J.D. Vance, the party’s vice presidential nominee.
“We don’t want to be completely transactional, but we want more transaction to reinstate some balance,” Colby said, speaking on FP Live—while making clear he doesn’t officially speak for the Trump-Vance ticket. “My view is alliances are so important that we actually expect people to do their part. My strategy is the one that will save NATO.”
Is there a Trump doctrine emerging? “Most of these doctrines are artificial. But there’s a general theme that I can ascertain in President Trump’s approach. I thought it was not a coincidence, and it was compelling, that the central term in the Republican platform was common sense. There’s a practicality: Is this in our interests? Does this make sense?”
Read an edited transcript of the conversation here: Decoding Trump’s Foreign Policy
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