Maggie Haberman and David E. Sanger of the "New York Times" recently interviewed Donald Trump in order to determine his foreign policy for the United States. The newspaper published both a transcript and a summary of the interview. During the 100-minute conversation, Trump unveiled a significant part of his approach to foreign policy. It can be summarized in the following way: any agreement between the United States and another country must offer the United States, at least, the same value that is offered to the other party.
One of the interviewers called this approach "America First".
The current approach (advocated by the establishments of both major political parties) is that even if the United States surrenders more blood and treasure in an international agreement than the other party, Washington should still commit to the agreement because it provides some benefits to Americans.
As a consequence, Washington shoulders a disproportionate share of the cost of running NATO.
As a consequence, Washington looks the other way when Taiwanese companies enjoy preferential treatment (from Beijing in the form of lower taxes and accelerated approval for new businesses) that are denied to American companies in China. In other words, the Taiwanese sacrifice neither blood nor treasure for the "defense" of Taiwan against China. The Americans sacrifice their business opportunities there.
As president, Trump will correct these injustices that the American people have endured. If the Democratic elites or the Republican elites dislike the "America First" method of foreign policy, they are free to emigrate permanently to Taiwan.
Of course, the Republican establishment will not simply disappear quietly. The elites are aggressively using various tactics to derail the political campaign of Trump. The Republican elites may succeed.
Suppose that they succeed at denying Trump the nomination. Then we -- the regular folks -- must teach the elites a lesson that they will never forget. The elites calculate that the people who support Trump will be "forced" to support the establishment candidate. What Trump's supporters should do is to write his name on the ballot in November. This action will split the vote of the Republicans and give the White House to the Democrats. Most importantly, this action will send a powerful message to the Republican elites: if another populist candidate resembling Donald Trump arrives on the scene in a future presidential race, then refusal by the establishment to support him will ruin any Republican bid for the presidency.
Having learned a stern lesson, the establishment will then bend to the will of the regular folks, and their populist candidate will become president.
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