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Donald Trump delivers major foreign policy speech – campaign live Trump describes 'five main weaknesses' of US foreign policy – campaign live
(35 minutes later)
6.11pm BST
18:11
Trump warns against 'false song of globalism'
Trump says the US must resist the “false song of globalism.”
“The nation-state remains the true foundation for happiness and harmony.” So he’s skeptical of international unions. “We will never enter American into any agreement that reduces our ability to control our own affairs.” He says Nafta has “emptied our states of manufacturing.”
6.09pm BST
18:09
Trump: 'We want to bring peace to the world'
Trump says he would only send troops to a foreign country when “absolutely necessary” and when there is a plan for “victory with a capital V.”
“I will also be prepared to deploy America’s economic resources” – financial leverage and sanctions. “Our power will be used if the others do not play by the rules, in other words, if they do not treat us fairly.”
“If I draw a line in the sand, I will enforce that line in the sand,” believe me.
Trump says, however, that he will not deploy troops except as a final measure and that the truer measure of power is being able not to intervene: caution and restraint are signs of strength.
“I will never send our finest into battle unless necessary, I mean absolutely necessary.”
4) work with allies to spread ‘western civilization’
Trump says such a step would do more to inspire positive change than would military interventions.
Trump says he would craft a foreign policy both parties could support. “We want to bring peace to the world. Too much destruction out there.”
“Americans must know that we are putting the American people first again.
Updated
at 6.12pm BST
6.03pm BST
18:03
Trump: 'easing of tensions with Russia is absolutely possible'
2) rebuild our military
– steps include rebuilding the nuclear deterrent and increasing the number of active duty armed troops. Trump says Obama’s 2017 budget deeply cuts military spending, a debatable assertion, depending in part on how much bipartisan blame you assign for sequestration. He says “a great country also takes care of its warriors. Our commitment to them is absolute.”
3) develop a foreign policy based on American interests
Trump says in 1998 the attacks on US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania demonstrated a foreign policy gone astray. He mispronounces Tanzania “Tan-ZAY-nee-uh”. He says that fighting Isis in the Middle East means vetting allies. He says the US should seek common ground with Russia and China. “I believe an easing of tensions...with Russia, from a position of strength only, is possible, is absolutely possible.” on China, “China respects strength,” but the US has lost all respect by “letting them take advantage of us.”
5.54pm BST
17:54
Trump: 'we must as a nation must be more unpredictable'
Trump is on to prescriptions:
1) long-term plan to halt spread and reach of radical Islam
– work more closely with allies; work together with any nation in the region threatened by radical Islam, “but this has to be a two-way street.” “And remember, Us and all we are doing, they have to appreciate what we’ve done to them.”
“The struggle against radical Islam also takes place within our homeland,” Trump says. “We must stop importing extremism through senseless immigration policies. We have no idea where these people are coming from.”
“All you have to do is look at the World Trade Center and September 11.” Trump calls 9/11 the single greatest military catastrophe in the history of the country, because civilians were attacked.
On to Isis: “Their days are numbered. I won’t tell them where and I won’t tell them how. We must as a nation must be more unpredictable.”
5.51pm BST
17:51
Trump calls for 'new rational American foreign policy'
“This will all change when I become president. To our friends and allies I say, America is going to be strong again. It is going to be reliable again,” Trump says, continuing:
We need a new rational American foreign policy informed by the best minds and supported by both parties.
This is how we won the Cold War.
5.50pm BST
17:50
4) Our rivals no longer respect us
– “They don’t take us seriously any more,” Trump says. His first example is Obama’s arrival in Cuba on Air Force One and no leader was there to greet him. Then the Saudi king did not greet Obama on a recent trip to the kingdom. Then Obama went to Copenhagen to try to get the Olympics and the USA came in fourth in voting. “We were laughed at all over the world... the list of humiliations go on and on and on.”
Trump says that Obama has failed in his North Korea policy and in his trade policy with China. Is Trump straying from his prepared remarks now? It seems he’s riffing a bit. “[Obama] has even allowed China to steal government secrets... we’ve let our rivals and challengers think they can get away with anything, and they do.”
5) USA does not understand foreign policy goals
– Trump says the US “has lacked a coherent foreign policy” since the end of the Cold War. Exhibit A is Libya, “lives lost, massive monies lost, the world is a different place.” Trump says Obama’s legacy is “weakness, confusion and a disarray. A mess.” Trump says Obama has made the Middle East “more chaotic” than ever before and “we have done nothing” to protect Christians in the region.
Obama won’t even call “radical Islam” that, Trump says. Hillary Clinton won’t say “radical Islam” either. “After secretary Clinton’s failed intervention in Libya,” Benghazi happened, Trump says. Then “Hillary Clinton decided to go home and sleep.” He’s talking about the video and seems to be steering more deeply into the Benghazi zone.
Trump says Isis is making millions a week “selling Libyan oil” because we don’t blockade, we don’t bomb.”
5.44pm BST
17:44
Trump describes '5 main weaknesses' of US foreign policy
The first three are:
1) Our resources are overextended
– The argument is that Obama has run up a trade deficit and debt and that is harming the military. “Ending the theft of American jobs will give us resources we need to rebuild our military,” Trump says. He says he’s the only candidate who understands the problem and knows how to fix it.
2) Allies not paying their fair share
– Trump says that in Nato only four of 28 members apart from the USA spend 2% of GDP on defense. He stops short, however, of calling Nato obsolete. He says that the countries the US is defending “must pay for their defense,” and if not the US must let them “defend themselves.”
3) Friends think they can’t depend on us
– “We have a president that dislikes our friends and bows to our enemies.” He calls the Iran deal disastrous. “Iran cannot be allowed to have a nuclear weapon.” He recalls the humiliation of Iran capturing US sailors in the Persian Gulf. “It is the result of not being willing to leave the table... at the same time, your friends need to know that you will stick by your agreements.” Such as the Nato treaty?
Trump keeps going on #3, saying that Obama supported the downfall of Mubarak in Egypt. He’s on to Israel, which he says has been “criticized by an administration that lacks moral clarity.”
5.38pm BST5.38pm BST
17:3817:38
Trump says World War II and the Cold War went well – “we won and we won big” – but then it all went down the tubes, starting with the Iraq war.Trump says World War II and the Cold War went well – “we won and we won big” – but then it all went down the tubes, starting with the Iraq war.
He says trying to graft democracy on lands that have no interest in it does not work. “Many trillions of dollars” and lives were lost, he says, and a vacuum was created in which Isis thrived.He says trying to graft democracy on lands that have no interest in it does not work. “Many trillions of dollars” and lives were lost, he says, and a vacuum was created in which Isis thrived.
“Our foreign policy is a complete and total disaster.”“Our foreign policy is a complete and total disaster.”
5.37pm BST5.37pm BST
17:3717:37
Trump: 'America first will be the overriding theme'Trump: 'America first will be the overriding theme'
Trump says he will replace “randomness with purpose” and “chaos with “peace.”Trump says he will replace “randomness with purpose” and “chaos with “peace.”
“America First will be the major and overriding theme of my administration,” Trump says.“America First will be the major and overriding theme of my administration,” Trump says.
His voice, as he reads from the Teleprompter, is remarkably flat and rhythmic. In short he sounds like he’s reading.His voice, as he reads from the Teleprompter, is remarkably flat and rhythmic. In short he sounds like he’s reading.
5.34pm BST5.34pm BST
17:3417:34
Trump takes stageTrump takes stage
Trump is at the lectern for his big foreign policy address.Trump is at the lectern for his big foreign policy address.
5.34pm BST5.34pm BST
17:3417:34
Carly Fiorina registered only 2% support in the Iowa caucuses, which Cruz won. Then she finished seventh in New Hampshire and dropped out.Carly Fiorina registered only 2% support in the Iowa caucuses, which Cruz won. Then she finished seventh in New Hampshire and dropped out.
She was an early and effective, to some minds, critic of Donald Trump, however. He criticized her appearance, saying, “Look at that face! Would anyone vote for that?”She was an early and effective, to some minds, critic of Donald Trump, however. He criticized her appearance, saying, “Look at that face! Would anyone vote for that?”
“I think women all over this country heard very clearly what Mr Trump said,” Fiorina replied, going on to hit Trump for donating to Planned Parenthood.“I think women all over this country heard very clearly what Mr Trump said,” Fiorina replied, going on to hit Trump for donating to Planned Parenthood.
Trump has already pooh-poohed Fiorina as a potential Cruz vice presidential choice. She had “one good debate,” he said dismissively on ABC News Wednesday morning.Trump has already pooh-poohed Fiorina as a potential Cruz vice presidential choice. She had “one good debate,” he said dismissively on ABC News Wednesday morning.
“Not because she’s a woman, but Carly did not resonate at all with people,” Trump said.“Not because she’s a woman, but Carly did not resonate at all with people,” Trump said.
5.23pm BST5.23pm BST
17:2317:23
Hastert a 'serial child molester' – judgeHastert a 'serial child molester' – judge
The judge is speaking in former House speaker Hastert’s sentencing for structuring cash withdrawals to avoid detection. The judge calls Hastert a “serial child molester”:The judge is speaking in former House speaker Hastert’s sentencing for structuring cash withdrawals to avoid detection. The judge calls Hastert a “serial child molester”:
BREAKING: Judge describes Dennis Hastert as 'serial child molester' before imposing sentence in hush-money case.BREAKING: Judge describes Dennis Hastert as 'serial child molester' before imposing sentence in hush-money case.
Dennis Hastert was Speaker of the House for a decade. He was next in line to be president. And he was a serial child molester.Dennis Hastert was Speaker of the House for a decade. He was next in line to be president. And he was a serial child molester.
5.21pm BST5.21pm BST
17:2117:21
Fiorina spotted in Indiana ahead of 'major' Cruz announcementFiorina spotted in Indiana ahead of 'major' Cruz announcement
In advance of Ted Cruz’s planned “major announcement” in Indiana at 4pm this afternoon, Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett Packard executive from California who ran for president herself before dropping out and becoming one of Cruz’s most high-profile and tireless surrogates, has been spotted by NBC News in Indianapolis.In advance of Ted Cruz’s planned “major announcement” in Indiana at 4pm this afternoon, Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett Packard executive from California who ran for president herself before dropping out and becoming one of Cruz’s most high-profile and tireless surrogates, has been spotted by NBC News in Indianapolis.
Fiorina -- spotted IN RED -- in Indiana, by NBC's @VaughnHillyard. #ThenDealMeInFiorina -- spotted IN RED -- in Indiana, by NBC's @VaughnHillyard. #ThenDealMeIn
CONFIRMED: Carly Fiorina's in Indianapolis - spotted by @NBCNews cameras. More to come. #veepstakes?CONFIRMED: Carly Fiorina's in Indianapolis - spotted by @NBCNews cameras. More to come. #veepstakes?
UpdatedUpdated
at 5.24pm BSTat 5.24pm BST
5.04pm BST5.04pm BST
17:0417:04
While we wait for Trump, here’s a noteworthy passage from Julia Ioffe’s new profile of Melania Trump in GQ:While we wait for Trump, here’s a noteworthy passage from Julia Ioffe’s new profile of Melania Trump in GQ:
https://t.co/rHsJ6vqpqO pic.twitter.com/h4DKKuJaTshttps://t.co/rHsJ6vqpqO pic.twitter.com/h4DKKuJaTs
Read the full profile here. There’s a picture of her eating a bowl of jewels, presumably for breakfast. Pretending, of course.Read the full profile here. There’s a picture of her eating a bowl of jewels, presumably for breakfast. Pretending, of course.
4.57pm BST
16:57
Here’s a live video stream of Trump’s address on foreign policy:
4.56pm BST
16:56
Trump to deliver address on foreign policy
Donald Trump is scheduled to appear in a few minutes at Washington’s Mayflower hotel to deliver the first major speech on foreign policy of his presidential campaign.
Reuters interviewed Lanhee Chen, who advised former 2016 Republican candidate Marco Rubio and 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney, about Trump’s foreign policy views.
“His views are reckless and dangerous, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re unpopular,” said Chan. “That’s part of the challenge.”
More from Reuters:
Many foreign policy and defense advisers say his views are worrying, mingling isolationism and protectionism, with calls to force U.S. allies to pay more for their defense and proposals to impose punitive tariffs on some imported goods.
He said he would focus on nuclear weapons as the single biggest threat in the world today.
The billionaire businessman promises to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the United States and to build a wall to block off Mexico.
Trump has declared the North Atlantic Treaty Organization obsolete and said European countries should be pulling more of their weight in the post-World War Two alliance.
Read further here.
Updated
at 4.59pm BST
4.36pm BST
16:36
Who is the mystery man Martha Stewart ran into at the Time 100 gala last night? From the picture you can only see the back of his head. Could be anybody.
Look who I bumped into at the Time 100 gala!! pic.twitter.com/iM8yuVhHV0
(h/t @holpuch)
Updated
at 4.43pm BST
4.27pm BST
16:27
Here is our coverage of two down-ticket (although not too far down in Maryland, where a US senate seat is in play) races from last night:
Chris Van Hollen, the seven-term congressman from Washington’s northern Maryland suburbs, has won the Democratic primary against congresswoman Donna Edwards for one of the state’s soon-to-be-vacant Senate seats on Tuesday night, writes Megan Carpentier:
The win in heavily Democratic Maryland’s primary all but assures that Van Hollen, a key ally of House minority leader Nancy Pelosi, will be seated in the US Senate in 2017.
Related: Congressman Chris Van Hollen wins Maryland's Democratic Senate primary
Maryland state senator Catherine Pugh beat 11 other candidates, including activist DeRay Mckesson, in a hard-fought and historic primary election in Baltimore’s mayoral race Tuesday, on the eve of the first anniversary of the unrest that shook the city in the wake of the death of Freddie Gray last year, writes Baynard Woods:
Related: State senator Catherine Pugh wins Baltimore mayoral primary
Updated
at 4.33pm BST
4.15pm BST
16:15
Clinton on Trump speech: 'loose cannons tend to misfire'
It appears that Trump will indeed use Teleprompters to talk foreign policy:
Yes, those are teleprompters you see set up here for @realDonaldTrump's DC foreign policy speech. pic.twitter.com/zuWelZcoHW
The Hillary Clinton campaign has released a pre-buttal of the Trump speech titled “Loose cannons tend to misfire”. “Nothing he can say can hide the long list of dangerous national security proposals he’s put forward over the course of this campaign,” a Clinton statement reads. “He has used the most reckless rhetoric of any major presidential candidate in modern history.”
The statement goes on to detail what it calls “Trump’s recklessness with nuclear weapons,” “Trump’s dangerous plans for fighting Isis,” “Trump’s damaging Islamophobia,” “Trump’s support for brutal dictators and strongmen” and Trump proposals that would “undermine our key alliances.”
4.08pm BST
16:08
Trump zeroes in on 1,237
How close is Donald Trump to winning the magic number of 1,237 delegates he needs to clinch the Republican nomination?
The GOP frontrunner would need to win 56% of the remaining pledged delegates to get there – which is about 7 points better than his pace to this point.
But Indiana’s contest next Tuesday is designed to rain delegates on the victor – 30 of the state’s 57 delegates go to the statewide winner, who will also pick up delegates in individual congressional districts.
If Trump can win Indiana, where rival Ted Cruz has dug in with everything he’s got, then Trump could clear the 1,237 threshold with a strong showing in California on 7 June.
The California contest is unusually local, with the lion’s share of delegates going to the winners of the state’s 53 congressional districts and only 13 awarded statewide. There hasn’t been a lot of polling in the state, but what numbers there are indicate a double-digit lead for Trump, which of course could change or might be wrong in the first place.
That’s all to say that Trump has a path and it’s not all that narrow, especially if he wins Indiana.
At this point, stopping Trump from 1237 would require both a win in IN & keeping him to 100 in CA. Even then he gets close enough to worry.
Here’s the bar chart:
Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report, in a piece titled The General Election Starts Now, argues that Trump does not have to get to 1,237 to win, because his sense of being the winner will be so strong:
Is it possible that Trump ends the primary season short of 1,237? Yes, but it won’t be by many delegates. Moreover, the more he wins, the harder it’s going to be for his opponents to argue that he doesn’t “deserve” the nomination because he didn’t win the majority of pledged delegates.
While lots of smarty-pants number crunchers are making the case for how/why Cruz can win on a second or third ballot, most voters have already wrapped their heads around the fact that Trump will be the nominee. That is only going to grow stronger, not weaker as we move forward.
Good summation of the delegate math. Difficult for Cruz, but an IN win would give Cruz big del haul & shift mo again https://t.co/ktzPlzd95j
Updated
at 4.33pm BST
3.52pm BST
15:52
Hastert to be sentenced
Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, who has pleaded guilty in federal court in Chicago to trying to manipulate large cash withdrawals so his bank would not flag them, using the cash, prosecutors say, to try to cover up sexual abuse he committed on at least four members of a high school wrestling team he used to coach, is to be sentenced imminently.
Hastert, a Republican from Illinois, was House speaker from 1999-2007. He took the gavel after Representative Bob Livingston stepped aside under pressure tied to the exposure of an extramarital affair. Livingston succeeded Newt Gingrich, who was having an affair with a congressional aide, now his wife, as he shepherded the impeachment proceedings against President Bill Clinton in the Monica Lewinsky affair. Read more about the Republicans who prosecuted the impeachment case against Bill Clinton here.
3.22pm BST
15:22
Do you have a #womancard?
#womancard is trending on Twitter here in New York. A sampler:
Love to buy some paid maternity leave with my #womancard 🍼
Taking advantage of my #womancard and enjoying a lower salary, unpaid maternity leave, and being told to smile more at creepy men. Wheeeee!!
Will my #womancard get me a free coffee at @Starbucks? @realDonaldTrump is a fool.
I wish my #womancard gave me discounts on shoes and tampons instead of being a discount card for same work pay.
I think my #WomanCard got lost in the mail; I still make .79 to the $1 men make & senile old men are trying to possess my uterus. #ImWithHer
Finished my Ph.D. in global leadership last year ... thanks to #womancard, it was sooooo much easier!
Will my #womancard earn me frequent flyer miles?
3.14pm BST
15:14
Cruz plans 'major' announcement
Ted Cruz has announced a “major announcement” to drop at a rally in Indiana at 4pm.
“I would ask folks to come out. We will have a major announcement, a rally,” Cruz said.
Any guesses? Could it be something along the lines of, “I would like you all to stop talking about Donald Trump’s overwhelming victories of yesterday evening”? A twist on his alliance with John Kasich? A vice presidential pick? A Gene Hackman endorsement?
2.10pm BST
14:10
Trump on 'woman card' comment: 'It's not sexist, it's true'
Hello, and welcome to our live-wire coverage of the 2016 race for the White House. Donald Trump outperformed the polls last night to nab 55%-65% of the vote in Republican primaries in five north-eastern states, picking up more than 100 delegates and possibly as many as 150 (depending on how Pennsylvania’s unbound dozens eventually vote) – the vast majority at stake.
“It’s over. As far as I’m concerned it’s over,” Trump said at a victory rally. “I consider myself the presumptive nominee.”
Hillary Clinton turned in a night almost as strong, conceding only Rhode Island to rival Bernie Sanders, who released a statement at the end of the night that many took to be a proto-concession, expressing a desire to influence the Democratic agenda.
Visit our interactive results page for the full rundown:
Related: Primary results: track votes in Maryland, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Rhode Island
Campaign trail action on Wednesday includes what is being billed as a major foreign policy address by Trump, scheduled for midday in Washington. It’s said Trump will use a teleprompter, uncharacteristically, and will call for the US to charge allies for protection, enact a sharply pro-tariff trade policy and increase its bias against foreign entanglements.
But Trump has already been talking on TV this morning, defending an incendiary comment he made at the end of his victory speech last night, in which he attributed Hillary Clinton’s success as a politician to her “playing the woman card”.
“If Hillary Clinton were a man, frankly, I don’t think she’d get 5% of the vote,” Trump said. “The only thing she’s got going is the woman’s card.”
Clinton seized on the comment last night on Twitter:
Caught your speech, @realDonaldTrump. About that "woman's card"...https://t.co/kKaHWISchy
Trump defended the comment this morning on three programs. “It’s not sexist, it’s true,” he told ABC News.
Trump is doubling down on his 'woman card' comments about Clinton this morning. Here's how he answered q's about it: pic.twitter.com/MzjAsOCA3T
Here’s the state of the Republican delegate race:
And here’s the view on the Democratic side:
Stick with us for all the latest throughout the day!