
Is President Trump’s grand strategy unraveling? The United States is at war with Iran, China is ascendant, Russia and Ukraine are stalemated and American allies are openly questioning our commitment to them.
Elbridge Colby, the under secretary of defense for policy, joins me to discuss the state of America’s foreign policy and he makes the case that Trump’s approach to our allies and adversaries is making us stronger.
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Ross Douthat: Does the Trump administration have a coherent foreign policy?
Donald Trump came into office promising to make peace between Russia and Ukraine, to stay out of reckless Middle Eastern wars and to contain the People’s Republic of China.
I’m not sure it’s all going as he hoped.
My guest this week is the administration’s under secretary of defense for policy, which means he’s the man in the Pentagon in charge of thinking about the big picture. And if there’s anyone who can explain the method behind the administration’s approach to foreign policy, it’s him.