Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump on Wednesday called for modernization of the nation’s nuclear weapons arsenal and a rebuilding of the U.S.-Russian relationship based on shared interests.
In a foreign policy speech delivered in Washington, D.C., Trump called the Obama administration’s foreign policy “reckless, rudderless, and aimless,” as well as “a complete and total disaster.” He said his “America first” foreign policy “replaces randomness with purpose, ideology with strategy, and chaos with peace.”
Trump emphasized the rebuilding of the U.S. military as a priority, particularly in light of expanded Russian and Chinese military capabilities. “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,” he said, although he did not outline specific plans to this end.
The billionaire drew criticism from across the political spectrum earlier this month when he suggested Japan and South Korea be allowed to develop nuclear weapons rather than the United States continue to pay to cover them with its defense umbrella. His speech Wednesday also quickly drew criticism, not least from former campaign rival Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). “Trump’s FP speech not conservative. It’s isolationism surrounded by disconnected thought, demonstrates lack of understanding threats we face,” Graham said in a series of Tweets on the address.
Criticizing defense budget cuts, Trump on Wednesday also said U.S. military dominance “must be unquestioned . . . by anybody and everybody.” He later said he would not hesitate to deploy military force as a last resort, “but if America fights, it must only fight to win.”
Speaking a day after sweeping five Republican primaries, Trump also expressed a desire “to live peacefully and in friendship” with countries often considered by U.S. political leaders as adversaries: Russia and China. Despite “serious differences” with those nations, he said, “we are not bound to be adversaries. We should seek common ground based on shared interests.” In the case of Russia, these shared concerns include “the horror of Islamic terrorism,” he said.
