U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio explained the importance of an America First agenda in a piece published in the Wall Street Journal. Rubio explained that after years of neglecting the U.S. and its partners, turning a blind eye to problems at home “ends now.”
“For many reasons, U.S. foreign policy has long focused on other regions while overlooking our own,” Rubio wrote. “As a result, we’ve let problems fester, missed opportunities and neglected partners. That ends now.”
President Donald Trump’s priorities include “securing our borders and reversing the disastrous invasion abetted by the last administration,” Rubio explained, emphasizing that while this is an America-first initiative, the nation will exercise diplomacy by working with countries to “halt and deter further migrant flows, and to accept the return of their citizens present in the U.S. illegally.”
“Yet even when circumstances demand toughness, the president’s vision for the hemisphere remains positive. We see a prosperous region rife with opportunities. We can strengthen trade ties, create partnerships to control migration, and enhance our hemisphere’s security,” Rubio said.
Numerous countries, including El Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama and the Dominican Republic, will benefit from a strong America. These countries were “neglected by past administrations that prioritized the global over the local and pursued policies that accelerated China’s economic development, often at our neighbors’ expense.”
Rubio suggested “relocating our critical supply chains to the Western Hemisphere” to “clear a path for our neighbors’ economic growth and safeguard Americans’ own economic security.”
He emphasized that the Trump administration’s foreign policy perspective is “concrete shared interests, not vague platitudes or utopian ideologies.”
“Making America great again also means helping our neighbors achieve greatness,” Rubio wrote. “The threats Mr. Trump was elected to stop are threats to the nations of our hemisphere as well.”
Upon being sworn in as U.S. Secretary of State, Rubio said United States is “headed into a new era that I think will make the world a safer place.” Rubio stated that the policy of “peace through strength” is “something that needs to be said and hasn’t been said enough in recent memory. And we look forward to being a key part of helping the President achieve his agenda that he has a clear mandate to keep.”
