I have assembled a number of quotations regarding President Trump’s position on foreign policy that I thought would be timely.

With the continuation of the impeachment inquiry, featuring the testimony of those unelected individuals, I thought it appropriate to briefly review some of President Trump’s public statements on his views of foreign policy.

I’m doing so because what we are learning is that these career people are clearly upset that their foreign policy goals were being superseded by the president, who had established his own foreign policy as provided by the Constitution.

Long before he thought of running for president, businessman Trump was frequently asked for his views on international issues, like his disapproval of entering the war with Iraq, on those Sunday news programs, as far back as 2003.

After his June 2015 decision to run for president, his views became quite clear.

“The career diplomats who got us into many foreign policy messes say I have no experience in foreign policy,” Trump wrote in “Crippled America,” on November 3, 2015. “They think that successful diplomacy requires years of experience and an understanding of all the nuances that have been care fully considered before reaching a conclusion.

“Look at the state of the world right now.  It’s a terrible mess, and that’s putting it kindly.  The so-called insiders within the Washington ruling class are the people who got us into trouble.  So why should we continue to pay attention to them?”

On April 27, 2016, candidate Trump spoke at the Center for National Interest. Here are a few excerpts from that appearance:

“It’s time to shake the rust off American’s foreign policy.  It’s time to invite new voices and new visions into the fold, something we have to do.  The direction I will outline today will also return us to a timeless principle.  My foreign policy will always put the American people and American security above all else.  It has to be first. Has to be.

“America First will be the major and overriding theme of my administration.  But to chart our path forward, we must first briefly take a look back.  W e have a lot to be proud of.”

“Our goal is peace and prosperity, not war and destruction.  The best way to achieve those goals is thorough a disciplined, deliberate and consistent foreign policy.

“I will seek a foreign policy that all Americans, whatever their party, can support, so important, and which our friends and allies will respect and totally welcome.

“I will view as president the world through the clear lens of American interests.  We will not apologize for becoming successful again, but will instead embrace the unique heritage that makes us who we are.”

On July 22, 2016, the soon-to-be president made these remarks related to foreign policy during his nomination acceptance speech:

“The most important difference between our plan and that of our opponents, is that our plan will put America First.  Americanism, not globalism, will be our credo.

“As long as we are led by politicians who will not put America First, then we can be assured that other nations will not treat America with respect.

“This will all change when I take office.  The American people will come first once again.”

On January 20, 1917, President Trump gave his inaugural address.  Here are a few excerpts from that address:

“Today we are not merely transferring power from one administration to another, or from one party to another – but we are transferring power from Washington D.C. and giving it back to you, the American people.

“Washington flourished … politicians prospered … the establishment protected itself, but not the citizens of our country.

“That all changes – starting right here, and right now, because this moment is your moment: it belongs to you.

“We assembled here today are issuing a new decree to be heard in every city, in every foreign capital, and in every hall of power.  From this day forward, a new vision will govern our land.  From this moment on, it’s going to be America First.”

I found the comments of Albert Mohler about President Trump’s inaugural address in The Briefing enlightening, especially in view of the effort by career diplomats to undermine the president:

“It was clear that President Trump delivered an inaugural address that was very much like candidate Trump, and that in one sense upended official Washington.

Mohler noted that the president debunked the myth that he would send a message in his address that he would govern differently than he ran as a populist.

Even though his address was sprinkled with positive notes and optimism, the New York Times referred to it as a “uniquely dark vision of the United States.”

On July 6, 2017, President Trump gave a remarkable speech in Warsaw, Poland.  He spoke of America’s love for Poland and its people and the bond between our two countries, while remembering the long struggle for freedom.

While scolding other European countries for not fulfilling their commitments to NATO, he applauded Poland for doing its part.

Finally, in an April 20, 2019 piece written by Michael Anton, “The Trump Doctrine: An insider explains the president’s foreign policy,” appeared in the Spring 2019 issue of Foreign Policy magazine.  Here are excerpts from that piece:

“… he has no inborn inclination to isolationism or interventionism, and he is not simply a dove or a hawk. His foreign policy doesn’t easily fit into any of these categories, though it draws from all of them.

“Yet Trump does have a consistent foreign policy: A Trump Doctrine.  The administration calls it ‘principled realism,’ which isn’t bad – although the term hasn’t caught on.

“(The) more familiar phrase for the president’s foreign policy – America First – is much maligned, mostly for historical reasons.

“Standing up for one’s own, Trump insists, is the surest way to secure it.  For too long, U.S. foreign policy has aimed to do the opposite.”

Surely, the nearly 80,000 employees in the State Department, including 1,300 professionals in the U.S. Foreign Service, have been aware of President Trump’s foreign policy, briefly reviewed here.  I wonder … were they listening to the president? … can they read?

“I believe that a significant number of bureaucrats and staff members within the executive branch have never accepted President Trump as legitimate and resent his unorthodox style and his intrusion on ‘their turf.’ – Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI)

It’s a sad when sour grapes diplomats, lauded by Democrats for their years of public service, are willing to circumvent the wishes of American voters and work to undermine a president with his own foreign policy goals.

And disgraceful, when they are willing to be part of a coup to put forth an impeachment inquiry with weak, fabricated charges.

May God continue to bless the United States of America.