President Donald Trump expounded on his principles as a counterpoint to globalism in his rally speech in Melbourne, Florida on Saturday, Feb. 18.
“The nation state remains the best model for human happiness and the American nation remains the greatest symbol of liberty, of freedom, and justice on the face of God’s earth,” he said. “Erasing national borders does not make people safer or more prosperous. It undermines democracy and trades away prosperity.”
Trump’s slogan “America first” is in stark contrast with the globalist worldview of past presidents and underpins much of Trump’s agenda.
It reflects in his push to replace multinational pacts with bilateral agreements, that generally provides America greater control over negotiations; in his push for a strong borders; in his intent to reward companies that invest domestically (with lower taxes) and punish those that leave (with taxes); and in Trump’s defense of American values and culture.
“I want to be in a room filled with hard working American patriots, who love their country, who salute their flag, and who pray for a better future,” Trump said to the cheering crowd.
Trump defended his executive order that banned U.S. entry to travelers from seven “countries of concern” for 90 days, postponed intake of refugees for 120 days and Syrian refugees indefinitely.
He said the order was to protect Americans, giving the example of Europe’s struggle with massive refugee influx.
He also presented alternatives in the form of offering humanitarian help to distressed nations like Syria, rather than importing their citizens.
“We all have heart, by the way, and what I want to do, I want to build safe zones in Syria and other places so they can stay there and live safely,” he said. “You know we do owe 20 trillion dollars, ok? So we’re going to have Gulf states pay for those safe zones. They have nothing but money. And we’re going to do it that way instead of taking massive numbers, tens of thousands of people, into our country.”
Trump hasn’t detailed what leverage he may consider to convince the Gulf states to cooperate.
