Trump Doctrine Declares End of American Nation-Building, Launches Golden Age of Peace Through Strength and Global Prosperity
By Richard Luthmann
“WE ARE IN THE BUSINESS OF PEACE, PARTNERSHIP, AND POWER”
President Donald J. Trump stood before Saudi leaders and global titans in Riyadh and delivered the most powerful foreign policy address of his second administration.
With soaring confidence, President Trump declared, “In the United States, we’ve launched the Golden Age of America… and with the help of the people of the Middle East… the golden age of the Middle East can proceed right alongside of us. We will work together. We will be together. We will succeed together. We will win together and we will always be friends.”
The speech was more than diplomacy—it was doctrine. The Trump Doctrine.
Within a span of minutes, President Trump buried the failed legacy of neocon nation-building. He unveiled a future rooted in mutual respect and strength, in a speech that history may well consider the most important foreign policy speech by an American President since Ronald Reagan at the Brandeburg Gate.
“No more flying people in beautiful planes giving you lectures on how to live and how to govern your own affairs,” President Trump said. “The gleaming marvels of Riyadh and Abu Dhabi were not created by the so-called nation builders, neocons or liberal nonprofits.”
Instead, President Trump honored the people of the region: “You achieved a modern miracle the Arabian way. That’s a good way.”
TRUMP’S RIYADH RECKONING: “IN THE END, THE NATION BUILDERS WRECKED FAR MORE NATIONS THAN THEY BUILT”
President Trump did not hold back.
“In the end, the so-called nation builders wrecked far more nations than they built,” President Trump said. “The interventionalists were intervening in complex societies that they did not even understand themselves.”
Rejecting past failures, President Trump offered a reset: “As I’ve shown repeatedly, I am willing to end past conflicts and forge new partnerships for a better and more stable world.”
President Trump praised the extraordinary transformation of Saudi Arabia, saying: “The transformation that has occurred under the leadership of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed has been truly extraordinary.”
But his sharpest message was directed at Iran. President Trump offered a deal: “I don’t like permanent enemies… If I can make a deal with Iran, I’ll be very happy.”
Then came the hammer: “If Iran’s leadership rejects this olive branch… we will have no choice but to inflict massive maximum pressure, drive Iranian oil exports to zero, and take all action required to stop the regime from ever having a nuclear weapon.”
His warning was clear: “There will be no mercy for any foe who tries to do us or them harm.”
TRUMP’S RIYADH RECKONING: “WE BELIEVE IN PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH”
In Reaganesque fashion, President Trump returned again and again to his doctrine of power.
“We have the greatest military, the strongest military… stronger than any. Nobody’s even close,” he said. “We believe in peace through strength.”
He reflected on his first-term military successes, including defeating ISIS in “three weeks” and imposing crippling sanctions on Iran. “They had no money for terror,” President Trump said. “They had no money for Hamas or Hezbollah.”
President Trump reminded his audience that real peace came not through appeasement, but pressure. “We knocked out ISIS… we had healed the divide in the Gulf Cooperation Council… we imposed unprecedented sanctions on Iran.”
And for those hoping he would turn America back into a global doormat, President Trump gave this reminder: “I will never hesitate to wield American power… and if you threaten America or our partners, you’ll be faced with overwhelming strength and devastating force.”
“THE GOLDEN AGE IS HERE—AND IT’S GLOBAL”
President Trump’s speech wasn’t just a defense of past victories. It was a proclamation of a new vision.
“We’ve created 464,000 brand new jobs… More than $10 trillion of new investments have been announced… We just reached a historic trade agreement with the United Kingdom and a breakthrough agreement with China,” President Trump told the cheering audience.
He pointed to the booming American economy: “Groceries, gasoline, energy and all other prices are down… We have no inflation.”
And for the world: “Everywhere we can, my administration is pursuing peaceful engagement, offering a strong and steady hand of friendship to all that will take it in good faith.”
He announced a policy shift on Syria: “I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria in order to give them a chance at greatness.”
And on Lebanon: “My administration stands ready to help Lebanon create a future of economic development and peace with its neighbors.”
TRUMP’S RIYADH RECKONING: “I BELIEVE IT IS GOD’S JOB TO SIT IN JUDGMENT. MY JOB IS TO DEFEND AMERICA.”
In perhaps his most definitive statement of foreign policy, President Trump declared: “Only a fool would think it’s our job to look into the souls of foreign leaders and use U.S. policy to dispense justice for their sins.”
He continued: “I believe it is God’s job to sit in judgment. My job is to defend America and to promote the fundamental interests of stability, prosperity and peace.”
That wasn’t just a rebuke of neoconservatism. It was the Trump Doctrine, distilled.
And with that, President Trump exited the stage—after thanking Crown Prince Mohammed and calling the event “a tremendous future.”
He took the podium as the American President, to Lee Greenwood’s “Proud To Be An American.”
President Trump left to “Y.M.C.A.,” as the global icon of our age.
READ THE FULL TEXT OF PRESIDENT TRUMP’S RIYADH SPEECH HERE
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