Does ‘America First’ mean ‘America Alone’?

Ever since the United States began to rearrange its alliances under the “America First” foreign policy of President Donald Trump, NATO has been lambasted, Crimea’s annexation by Russia is looking permanent, South Korea has been told to pay for the US bases in their country, and there is a renewed attempt to get out of the so-called “forever wars” in the Middle East.

Are Washington’s traditional allies confident that the US will stand by them in their time of need?

Does “America First” really mean “America Alone?” Or perhaps a US that would prefer to sit out on the sidelines of global challenges?

And how did basic human rights and freedoms drop off the global agenda so quickly?

In this episode of The Bottom Line, Steve Clemons asks his panel of experts if the value of being an ally of the US has plummeted.

Guests:
Richard Fontaine – CEO of the Center for a New American Security
James Carafano – Vice president of the Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy at the Heritage Foundation
And Kelley Vlahos – Executive editor of the American Conservative magazine

Read the full transcript here