Policymakers abroad: on Foreign Policy
Donald Trump:
Criticized Buchanan’s view on Hitler as appeasement
In Buchanan’s book, he actually said the Western allies were wrong to stop Hitler. He argued that we should have let Hitler take all of the territories to his east. What of the systematic annihilation of Jews, Catholics, and Gypsies in those countries?
You don’t have to be a genius to know that we were next, that once Hitler seized control of the countries to his east he would focus on world domination. Pat Buchanan was actually preaching the same policy of appeasement that had failed for Neville
Chamberlain at Munich. If we used Buchanan’s theory on Hitler as a foreign policy strategy, we would have appeased every world dictator with a screw loose and we’d have a brainwashed population ready to go postal on command.
After I [wrote
an article on this for] Face the Nation, Buchanan accused me of “ignorance.” Buchanan, who believes himself an expert, has also called Hitler “a political organizer of the first rank.” Buchanan is a fan.
Source: The America We Deserve, on Foreign Influences, p.267-68
Jul 2, 2000
Donald Trump:
By 2027, tsunami as China overtakes US as largest economy
There is a lot that Obama and his globalist pals don't want you to know about China's strength. But no one who knows the truth can sit back and ignore how dangerous this economic powerhouse will be if our so-called leaders in
Washington don't get their acts together and start standing up for American jobs and stop outsourcing them to China. It's been predicted that by 2027, China will overtake the United States as the world's biggest economy--much sooner if the
Obama economy's disastrous trends continue. That means in a handful of years, America will be engulfed by the economic tsunami that is the People's Republic of China--my guess is by 2016 if we don't act fast.For the past thirty years,
China's economy has grown an average 9 to 10 percent each year. In the first quarter of 2011 alone, China's economy grew a robust 9.7 percent. America's first quarter growth rate? An embarrassing and humiliating 1.9 percent. It's a national disgrace.
Source: Time to Get Tough, on Foreign Influences, p. 30
Dec 5, 2011
Donald Trump:
China should make Kim Jong Un disappear
Trump was asked how he would respond to North Korea's nuclear threat. "I would get China to make that guy disappear in one form or another very quickly," Trump said. He didn't clarify whether disappearing was equivalent to being assassinated but
said, "Well, I've heard of worse things, frankly.""I mean, this guy's a bad dude, and don't underestimate him," Trump said, referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. "Any young guy who can take over from his father with all those generals and
everybody else that probably want the position, this is not somebody to be underestimated."
Trump maintained that China has control over North Korea and the US has control over China--thus "China should do that," he said. "China has control--absolute
control--over North Korea. They don't say it, but they do," Trump explained. "And they should make that problem disappear. China is sucking us dry. They're taking our money. They're taking our jobs. We have rebuilt China with what they've taken out."
Source: Nolan McCaskill on Politico.com on Foreign Influences
Feb 10, 2016
Donald Trump:
Support NATO, but it's not us against Russia
Q: You wrote, "Pulling back from Europe would save this country millions of dollars annually. The cost of stationing NATO troops in Europe is enormous. And these are clearly funds that can be put to better use." Would you want to end the NATO alliance
completely?TRUMP: I'm a little concerned about NATO from this standpoint. Take Ukraine. We're leading Ukraine. Where's Germany? Where are the countries of Europe leading? I don't mind helping them. Why isn't Germany leading this charge? Why is the
United States? I mean, we're like the policemen of the world. And why are we leading the charge in Ukraine?
Q: So you wouldn't allow Ukraine into NATO?
TRUMP: I would not care that much. Whether it goes in or doesn't go in, I wouldn't care. Look,
I would support NATO.
Q: It sounds like you're not a fan of NATO
TRUMP: I'm a fan of fairness. I'm a fan of common sense. I'm certainly not a fan of us being against Russia. Why are we always at the forefront of everything?
Source: Meet the Press 2015 interview, on Foreign Influences
Aug 17, 2015
Donald Trump:
Condemn Russian & any country's involvement in our elections
Q: What about allegations of Russian involvement in this election?TRUMP: I don't know Putin. He said nice things about me. If we got along well, that would be good. He has no respect for our president. He has no respect for [Hillary Clinton].
CLINTON: Well, that's because he'd rather have a puppet as president of the United States.
TRUMP: No puppet. You're the puppet!
CLINTON: It's pretty clear you won't admit that the Russians have engaged in cyberattacks against the
United States of America, [but] we have 17 intelligence agencies, civilian and military, who have all concluded that these cyberattacks come from the highest levels of the Kremlin and they are designed to influence our election.
TRUMP: She has no
idea whether it's Russia, China, or anybody else.
Q: Do you condemn any interference by Russia in the American election?
TRUMP: By Russia or anybody else. Let me tell you, Putin has outsmarted her and Obama at every single step of the way.
Source: Third 2016 Presidential Debate, on Foreign Influences
Oct 19, 2016
Donald Trump:
It's good that Putin says nice things about me
Trump noted that Russia's leader, Vladimir Putin, had been quoted saying that Trump was brilliant. Trump smirked at American media accounts suggesting it maybe wasn't a great thing for a presidential candidate to be praised by the autocratic leader
of one of the country's most difficult rivals. "Oh, isn't it terrible that Putin said nice things?" Trump mocked. "That's not terrible, that's good...Wouldn't it be nice if we could get along with people?"
Reporters were forever twisting his words, making it sound as if Trump supported Putin, he said. "By the way, I hate some of these 'reporters'. But I'd never kill them. I hate them". The cheers reached a new pinnacle, and
Trump, his voice rising with the crowd's lusty shouts, added, "Some of them are such lying, disgusting people, it's true, it's true. But I would never kill them."
Source: Trump Revealed, on Foreign Influences, p. 6-7
Aug 23, 2016
Donald Trump:
1987 thru 2013: Tried to build Trump Tower in Moscow
As early as 1987, Trump had expressed interest in building a Trump Tower in the Soviet Union. That year, on a visit to Moscow and Leningrad--now St. Petersburg--he said Soviet officials had asked him to consider building luxury hotels
there. "There are not too many ideas that I become attracted to, but that is one I think would interest a lot of people," Trump said at the time. "Not purely from an economic standpoint, either."At the Miss Universe Pageant in Moscow in 2013,
Trump said he was in serious talks about building a skyscraper in Moscow. Trump made a series of complimentary comments about Putin.
Trump would express admiration for Putin's leadership, despite his record of prosecuting and persecuting journalists and political opponents. Still, no Trump Tower rose over Moscow.
Source: Trump Revealed, on Foreign Influences, p.245
Aug 23, 2016
New Testament:
Bibles banned in China from 1949 until 1979
When the People's Republic of China was established in 1949, under the Communist regime, the official government policy was atheism, and worship services and the distribution of Bibles and other holy books were prohibited.I asked [Deng Xiaoping] if it
might be possible to change these policies, and he asked for specific suggestions. After a few moments' thought, I made 3 requests: guarantee freedom of worship, permit the distribution of Bibles, and reopen the door to missionaries. Before returning to
China, Deng Xiaoping told me that the basic law of China would be changed to provide for religious freedom and that Bibles would be authorized. However, he would not approve the return of Western missionaries because, he said, they had "lived like
royalty" & had tried to subvert the lifestyles of the Chinese people. Within 3 years, he had kept both his promises, with a proviso that any new church congregations would register with the government. They could then conduct services freely, as desired.
Source: Our Endangered Values (Carter Foreign Influences), p. 25-26
Sep 26, 2006
Vladimir Putin:
We will continue to work with China on a bilateral basis
[On China]: "We will continue to actively work with China on a bilateral basis. allocating the needed resources
and creating the conditions for the citizens of our countries to feel safe regardless of what's happening in Afghanistan."
Source: The Moscow Times on Foreign Influencers
Oct 22, 2021
Vladimir Putin:
May remove Taliban from list of terrorist organizations
[On Afghanistan]: "For our part, we have specific major projects that can be implemented there. Our special services are in contact with the relevant structures in Afghanistan.""Our expectation is that these people, the Taliban, that now clearly
control Afghanistan, will see that the situation develops in a positive way. If that happens, we would decide to take them off the list of terrorist organizations. I think we're coming to that, and Russia's position will be to move in this direction."
Source: The Moscow Times on Foreign Influencers
Oct 22, 2021
Xi Jinping:
Don't relapse into confrontation, division of Cold War era
We should be forward-looking, move ahead and reject practices of discrimination and exclusion of others. Attempts to draw ideological lines or form small circles on geopolitical grounds are bound to fail.
The Asia-Pacific region cannot and should not relapse into the confrontation and division of the Cold War era.
Source: Global Times on Foreign Influences: "APEC Keynote"
Nov 11, 2021
Liz Truss:
Opposed Brexit in 2016; now supports it
Most notably, she supported remaining in the European Union in the UK's referendum in 2016. At the time, Truss tweeted that she was backing those who wanted to remain in the bloc because "it is in
Britain's economic interest and means we can focus on vital economic and social reform at home." Truss now backs Brexit, saying that her fears before the referendum that it could cause "disruption" were mistaken.
Source: CNN.com "Shape Shifter" on Foreign Influences
Sep 6, 2022
Liz Truss:
Work with other democracies against autocratic regimes
I think that the U.S. is an incredibly close partner of the U.K. I do think our relationship is special. And it's increasingly important at a time when we're facing threats from Russia, increased assertiveness from China. We are both freedom-loving
democracies. We have such a strong connection. And we also need to work with our other allies in the G7. And we need to reach out to countries like India as well, because we are facing increased threat from those autocratic regimes.
Source: CNN SOTU interviews on Foreign Influences: UK Prime Minister
Sep 25, 2022
Rishi Sunak:
China is the biggest long term threat to Britain
Uncertainty persists over Mr. Sunak's position on China. It is unclear whether Mr. Sunak will fulfil Liz Truss' ambition to officially list China as a threat to the UK. Doing so would align with comments made by the PM during 2022's first Conservative
leadership election, where Mr. Sunak stated "China is the biggest long term threat to Britain and the world's economic and national security", alongside promising measures to ban CCP-funded Confucius Institutes in the UK.
Source: Wilson Center on Foreign Influences
Nov 2, 2022
Page last updated: Sep 29, 2024