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| © AP Photo/Julie Jacobson |
Donald Trump will signal another phase in his metamorphosis from unpolished political neophyte to the would-be Republican nominee for president with a foreign policy speech Wednesday, which he will target not only to voters but to an international community wary of his rise.
The remarks, which Trump will deliver in Washington, D.C., will expand on an "America first" doctrine he has recently begun to sketch out, beginning with an extensive interview last month with The New York Times. But the celebrity businessman likely won't delve into wonky details or offer groundbreaking policy prescriptions, which he has avoided throughout the campaign; rather, his remarks will be wide-ranging, discussing U.S. foreign policy dating back as far as the Cold War.
Trump will hone in on a few key issues, however, including the fight against ISIS; President Obama's deal with Iran, which Trump has insisted he would re-negotiate; and the outlook regarding Russia, including his view on NATO's role as a check on its power.
He will deliver the speech in the nation's capital "to begin this dialogue or interaction with the diplomatic and international media and academic core," said Walid Phares, one of Trump's advisers on foreign policy. But Trump's remarks will also target conservative Republicans who have recoiled at his candidacy, as well as voters who might question how he would act, in style and substance, as president.
"He wants the American people to know that, despite what we see in the primary cycle, the kind of exchanges, a Trump administration would look like what you will see [Wednesday]," Phares said. "It would be very serious on national security, on defense, and on counterterror."
It was less than one year ago when Trump first announced his candidacy by calling some Mexican immigrants "rapists" and insisting Mexico would pay to build a wall along its border with the United States. Since then, Trump has proposed a ban on Muslims traveling to America, said he would not rule out using a nuclear weapon in Europe, and even tangled publicly with the pope.
Trump's foreign policy remarks have made him a fat target for his Republican rivals and Democrats alike, as when he said in February that he would be "neutral" in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"We need steady hands, not a president who says he's neutral on Monday, pro-Israel on Tuesday, and who-knows-what on Wednesday, because everything's negotiable," Hillary Clinton said last month at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference.
Ultimately, Trump used his remarks at that same event to clean up his earlier comments, vowing this time to support Israel. His speech to AIPAC was also notable because it marked Trump's first prepared - as opposed to off-the-cuff - address.
His remarks Wednesday, as well as other policy speeches to follow, will mimic this more subdued tone, and Trump will again read from prepared remarks. And, as at AIPAC, Trump will seek to refine some controversial comments he has made, with plans "to clarify the point that he's not going to dismantle NATO or let go of Western alliances. He's going to readjust them to the new challenges," Phares said. Trump recently called NATO "obsolete."
The speech comes as Trump attempts to enter a new phase of his campaign for president. At a recent Republican meeting in Florida, Trump's top campaign aide, Paul Manafort, assured party leaders that his candidate is merely "playing a part" and would soon roll out a more traditional campaign style.
Trump, for his part, has seemed hesitant to accept this makeover. "I sort of don't like toning it down," Trump told his supporters at a rally last week. However, he added, "At some point, I'm going to be so presidential that you people will be so bored."
That point might be fast approaching, with Trump on track to narrowly clinch or come close to clinching the party's nomination. He is expected to sweep the Northeast primary contests Tuesday and win the lion's share of those delegates; meanwhile, recent polling has shown him leading in Indiana, a must-win state for anti-Trump forces.
World leaders have been watching these developments closely and with some evident skepticism, particularly some key U.S. allies. During a recent meeting with congressional lawmakers, according to one Republican who was present, King Salman of Saudi Arabia said of Trump, "Is that the best you can do?"
In December, in the aftermath of Trump's proposed ban on Muslims coming into the United States, British Prime Minister David Cameron said, "If he came to visit our country, I think he would unite us all against him."
Obama has been compelled at some junctures to respond to Trump, too, as when the businessman suggested Japan and South Korea should be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons for self-defense against North Korea.
"The person who made the statements doesn't know much about foreign policy or nuclear policy or the Korean Peninsula or the world generally," Obama said at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington.
In a general election, Trump would need to persuade voters that he can match Clinton, a former secretary of state, on foreign policy - a dynamic his team admits will be a climb.
"It is a challenge, there's no doubt about it, and Mr. Trump knows that," said Phares. But, he added, "Mr. Trump is confident that he knows the world, and he is learning. Everybody learns over time, even presidents."
His speech Wednesday, his team hopes, will be a first step - and an attempt to bring some definition to the foreign policy views of a candidate who told the Times: "I don't want to say what I'd do because ... we need unpredictability."
"There are many who are trying to portray Mr. Trump and put him in one of the boxes that we are used to in international narrative. He has a new box," Phares said. "Some are saying he's going to go overseas and interfere with energy, and others are saying he's going to be in isolation. It's not one or the other. He does not belong to these traditional schools."
The remarks, which Trump will deliver in Washington, D.C., will expand on an "America first" doctrine he has recently begun to sketch out, beginning with an extensive interview last month with The New York Times. But the celebrity businessman likely won't delve into wonky details or offer groundbreaking policy prescriptions, which he has avoided throughout the campaign; rather, his remarks will be wide-ranging, discussing U.S. foreign policy dating back as far as the Cold War.
Trump will hone in on a few key issues, however, including the fight against ISIS; President Obama's deal with Iran, which Trump has insisted he would re-negotiate; and the outlook regarding Russia, including his view on NATO's role as a check on its power.
He will deliver the speech in the nation's capital "to begin this dialogue or interaction with the diplomatic and international media and academic core," said Walid Phares, one of Trump's advisers on foreign policy. But Trump's remarks will also target conservative Republicans who have recoiled at his candidacy, as well as voters who might question how he would act, in style and substance, as president.
"He wants the American people to know that, despite what we see in the primary cycle, the kind of exchanges, a Trump administration would look like what you will see [Wednesday]," Phares said. "It would be very serious on national security, on defense, and on counterterror."
It was less than one year ago when Trump first announced his candidacy by calling some Mexican immigrants "rapists" and insisting Mexico would pay to build a wall along its border with the United States. Since then, Trump has proposed a ban on Muslims traveling to America, said he would not rule out using a nuclear weapon in Europe, and even tangled publicly with the pope.
Trump's foreign policy remarks have made him a fat target for his Republican rivals and Democrats alike, as when he said in February that he would be "neutral" in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"We need steady hands, not a president who says he's neutral on Monday, pro-Israel on Tuesday, and who-knows-what on Wednesday, because everything's negotiable," Hillary Clinton said last month at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference.
Ultimately, Trump used his remarks at that same event to clean up his earlier comments, vowing this time to support Israel. His speech to AIPAC was also notable because it marked Trump's first prepared - as opposed to off-the-cuff - address.
His remarks Wednesday, as well as other policy speeches to follow, will mimic this more subdued tone, and Trump will again read from prepared remarks. And, as at AIPAC, Trump will seek to refine some controversial comments he has made, with plans "to clarify the point that he's not going to dismantle NATO or let go of Western alliances. He's going to readjust them to the new challenges," Phares said. Trump recently called NATO "obsolete."
The speech comes as Trump attempts to enter a new phase of his campaign for president. At a recent Republican meeting in Florida, Trump's top campaign aide, Paul Manafort, assured party leaders that his candidate is merely "playing a part" and would soon roll out a more traditional campaign style.
Trump, for his part, has seemed hesitant to accept this makeover. "I sort of don't like toning it down," Trump told his supporters at a rally last week. However, he added, "At some point, I'm going to be so presidential that you people will be so bored."
That point might be fast approaching, with Trump on track to narrowly clinch or come close to clinching the party's nomination. He is expected to sweep the Northeast primary contests Tuesday and win the lion's share of those delegates; meanwhile, recent polling has shown him leading in Indiana, a must-win state for anti-Trump forces.
World leaders have been watching these developments closely and with some evident skepticism, particularly some key U.S. allies. During a recent meeting with congressional lawmakers, according to one Republican who was present, King Salman of Saudi Arabia said of Trump, "Is that the best you can do?"
In December, in the aftermath of Trump's proposed ban on Muslims coming into the United States, British Prime Minister David Cameron said, "If he came to visit our country, I think he would unite us all against him."
Obama has been compelled at some junctures to respond to Trump, too, as when the businessman suggested Japan and South Korea should be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons for self-defense against North Korea.
"The person who made the statements doesn't know much about foreign policy or nuclear policy or the Korean Peninsula or the world generally," Obama said at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington.
In a general election, Trump would need to persuade voters that he can match Clinton, a former secretary of state, on foreign policy - a dynamic his team admits will be a climb.
"It is a challenge, there's no doubt about it, and Mr. Trump knows that," said Phares. But, he added, "Mr. Trump is confident that he knows the world, and he is learning. Everybody learns over time, even presidents."
His speech Wednesday, his team hopes, will be a first step - and an attempt to bring some definition to the foreign policy views of a candidate who told the Times: "I don't want to say what I'd do because ... we need unpredictability."
"There are many who are trying to portray Mr. Trump and put him in one of the boxes that we are used to in international narrative. He has a new box," Phares said. "Some are saying he's going to go overseas and interfere with energy, and others are saying he's going to be in isolation. It's not one or the other. He does not belong to these traditional schools."