Bill de Blasio in Council on Foreign Relations


On Foreign Policy: 1980s: supported Sandinista National Liberation Front

Before turning his focus to New York City politics, his first interest was Central America. During the 1980s he supported the Sandinista National Liberation Front and opposed the Reagan administration's support for the contras. He and his wife honeymooned in Cuba, which was illegal for Americans at the time.
Source: Council on Foreign Relations on 2019 Democratic primary Aug 12, 2019

On Free Trade: Dislikes multilateral trade deals, including NAFTA and TPP

Like other Democratic candidates running under the progressive banner, de Blasio dislikes America's trade deals. During the second round of Democratic debates he criticized Trump for "trying to sell NAFTA 2.0. He's got a new name for it. It's just as dangerous as the old NAFTA. It's going to take away American jobs like the old NAFTA, like it did to Michigan. And we cannot have Democrats be party to a new NAFTA." He has been a long-time critic of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Back in 2015 he said it would be a "huge mistake" for Congress to approve so-called fast-track treatment of the deal. What's unclear is what kinds of trade deal would meet de Blasio's approval and how many other countries would be willing to meet those terms.
Source: Council on Foreign Relations on 2019 Democratic primary Aug 12, 2019

On War & Peace: Leave Afghanistan when a peace deal is in place

De Blasio has declined to join with most of his fellow progressive candidates in pledging to remove U.S. troops from Afghanistan. He thinks it is a war that has "gone on too long" and he hopes one day to remove all of our troops. But he thinks it is unwise to commit to a troop withdrawal before a peace deal is in place. When a reporter pressed him to give a yes/no answer on an Afghanistan troop withdrawal, he replied, "Some things, I think you would agree, are not always a yes or a no."
Source: Council on Foreign Relations on 2019 Democratic primary Aug 12, 2019

On War & Peace: Opposes U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen

De Blasio opposes U.S. support for the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen. Back in March, he applauded the Senate's passage of a resolution that would have ended U.S. support, calling the intervention "brutal and immoral." More broadly, he wants Congress to more vigorously exercise its war powers. "As president I would want the Congress to authorize major military actions because getting away from that has made it bluntly too easy for these kind of interventions to occur."
Source: Council on Foreign Relations on 2019 Democratic primary Aug 12, 2019

On War & Peace: Rejoin the multilateral Iran nuclear deal

De Blasio [agrees with] the other Democratic candidates in having supported the Iran nuclear deal [Obama's Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, negotiated jointly with 6 countries and the E.U.] He has committed to rejoining the deal if he becomes president. He has also said that he sees "a purposeful march to war that some are trying to engineer in the Republican Party" and he worries that "at some point, Donald Trump will see it as a helpful distraction."
Source: Council on Foreign Relations on 2019 Democratic primary Aug 12, 2019

The above quotations are from Council on Foreign Relations.
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Page last updated: Mar 16, 2022