Trump Unveils “America First National Security 2.0” During Visit to the Arabian Gulf In Riyadh, Trump unveiled an “America First 2.0” doctrine—favoring trade over war, diplomacy over regime change, and peace through prosperity in a new world order. By Fred Fleitz
President Trump’s trip this week to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was a great success for many reasons. The trip was also historic due to a speech he gave in Saudi Arabia outlining his America First foreign policy, which could transform global security.
In this speech, delivered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on May 13, Trump unveiled his second-term approach to foreign policy that might be called “America First National Security 2.0.”
Most of Trump’s America First approach to U.S. foreign affairs is well known. He has called for putting the interests of our country and the American people first in national security policies. Trump wants a strong military but has pledged to use military force prudently to keep our country out of new and unnecessary wars. He has condemned bad treaties favored by the foreign policy establishment, like the Paris Climate Accord, that will have no effect on the global climate but will do serious damage to the American economy.
In his Riyadh speech, President Trump doubled down on his previous America First national security policies with a revolutionary plan to promote stability and peace through economic prosperity in the Middle East and around the world. Deputy opinion editor of Newsweek Batya Ungar-Sargon explained the significance of this speech in a May 13 tweet.
“Anyone hoping to understand President Trump’s foreign policy should watch his whole speech, probably the most momentous foreign policy address of my lifetime. Trump is building a new world order. I would encourage our allies to watch it closely so as not to miss out on what could turn out to be a once in a lifetime opportunity.”
The central theme of Trump’s “new world order” is promoting global security through trade and prosperity. The president said he favored “commerce, not chaos” and a new Middle East that “exports technology, not terrorism, and where people of different nations, religions, and creeds are building cities together, not bombing each other out of existence.”
To facilitate this vision, President Trump noted that the sophisticated and gleaming cities of Riyadh and Abu Dhabi were built by visionary Arab leaders who developed their countries in their own ways and consistent with their heritages. He stressed that these countries succeeded due to the hard work of their citizens and not because of Western military intervention, nation-builders, neocons, or liberal nonprofits.
Trump demonstrated the incredible potential for economic prosperity instead of chaos in the Middle East with the $3 trillion in new trade deals with the U.S. He also brought America’s top tech and financial CEOs with him to discuss trade deals, including Tesla President and CEO Elon Musk, President and CEO of Nvidia Jensen Huang, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
As part of this new approach, President Trump said it is time for America to cease lecturing other nations with different systems of government than the United States or trying to promote regime change against governments we oppose.
Trump also said U.S. presidents must stop looking “into the souls of foreign leaders and use U.S. policy to dispense justice for their sins.” Trump said it is God’s job to sit in judgment, not the United States.
On a related note, President Trump expanded on his willingness to talk to America’s friends and foes, stating he does not believe the U.S. should have permanent enemies and noted that “some of the closest friends of the United States of America are nations we fought wars against in generations past, and now they’re our friends and our allies.”
Trump said that although he is prepared to use military force to defend the security of our nation and our allies and is selling devastating weapons to our Gulf state allies for their defense, “my greatest hope is to be a peacemaker and to be a unifier. I don’t like war.”
Trump said, “We’ll never allow America and its allies to be threatened with terrorism or nuclear attack,” but stressed that he wants to make a deal with Iran to resolve concerns about its nuclear program peacefully. Trump also said he wants to make Gaza a “freedom zone” and agreed to give Syria’s struggling new government a chance by dropping U.S. sanctions.
Despite Russian President Putin’s refusal to show up for talks with Ukrainian President Zelensky on Thursday and his failure to honor his agreements with the U.S. to end the Ukraine War, Trump indicated he has not given up on his peace efforts and wants to meet with Putin to discuss how to end this conflict.
This “America First National Security 2.0” or “Trump Doctrine” is a sharp break from the foreign policy approaches of previous presidents and has the potential to actually implement a new world order.
Under Trump’s new approach, America will promote its interests abroad through commerce and diplomacy to end foreign conflicts, not seek regime change or intervene in foreign conflicts.
America will also practice tolerance with countries with different political systems.
Trump is offering the nations of the world, including current U.S. adversaries, opportunities to collaborate with the U.S. for mutual prosperity, rather than tension or military conflicts. Trump also pledged to engage in dialogue with any adversary to resolve our differences peacefully.
Trump said he wants to be a peacemaker and hopes the powerful weapons the United States is selling to our Arabian Gulf allies will never be used in battle. But he made clear that he will use military force decisively against nations that threaten our security or choose the path of war.
Finally, not only will Trump’s new approach resonate with many nations around the world, it will also counter China’s growing global influence and its efforts to create a new China-centered world order. Trump is aware that many countries have been critical of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which has ensnared Third World states in debt and enabled China to seize their infrastructure, such as ports. He also knows that most nations have no interest in a new world order or global economy dominated by the Chinese Communist Party. They would much prefer doing deals with the United States.
Since he first became president in 2017, Donald Trump has been an unconventional leader who succeeded by breaking precedents and defying the establishment. The “America First National Security 2.0” ideas that Trump discussed in his Riyadh speech are not just the most unconventional proposals he has made as president; they are, to paraphrase Batya Ungar-Sargon, probably the most momentous foreign policy approach of our lifetimes with the potential to bring about unprecedented peace and global security.
Fred Fleitz previously served as National Security Council chief of staff, a CIA analyst, and a House Intelligence Committee staff member. He is the Vice Chair of the America First Policy Institute’s Center for American Security.
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