Former President Trump is laying out his foreign policy agenda for a potential second term, including a shift towards providing foreign aid in the form of loans rather than grants.
During a campaign speech in South Carolina, Trump criticized the idea of giving nearly a hundred billion dollars to certain countries as grants and suggested giving aid as loans instead.
Trump’s recent campaign speeches have focused on various topics, including immigration, the economy, criticisms of President Biden, and remarks on NATO.
Trump’s Rally Team (Credits: The New York Times)
He has also outlined how he would transition U.S. foreign policy to emphasize a loan system for foreign aid, citing his past actions as president when he leveraged aid to pressure Central American nations to cooperate on immigration issues.
In one example, Trump recounted cutting off foreign aid to El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, totaling approximately $750 million a year, as a way to pressure them to cooperate on immigration.
Trump (Credits: Politico)
He claimed that after cutting off the funds, he received calls from the presidents of these countries seeking to resolve the “misunderstanding.”
Peter Doran, an expert from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, suggested that if Trump wins a second term, his administration could take a more aggressive approach to using foreign policies as leverage on the world stage.
Doran noted that while many focus on the spectacle of Trump’s rallies, the former president is laying out a coherent foreign policy vision for his potential second administration.
