Trump: Withdraw Troops From S Korea/Japan, Let Them Have Nukes

Donald Trump has undoubtedly rattled the political establishment for a variety of reasons, but the one reason that probably doesn’t get enough attention is his fairly non-interventionist foreign policy. While he talks a big vicious game when it comes to terrorism, his approach to other nation states stands at odds with the imperial mindset of Washington DC.

In the past he has said that if he becomes president, he would take a hands off approach to Russia and North Korea. Now he has said that he would be open to backing out of East Asia. He admitted that the United States “cannot be the policeman of the world” and suggested a withdrawal of troops for South Korea and Japan, unless they could pay the US in exchange for protection.

He also described America’s defense pact with Japan as one-sided, since we would have to “go out with full force” to defend them if they were invaded. “If we’re attacked, they do not have to come to our defense…that’s a real problem.” To protect themselves from China, he suggested that countries like South Korea and Japan should develop nuclear weapons. He views this as an inevitable development since if the United States “keeps on its path, its current path of weakness, they’re going to want to have that anyway, with or without me discussing it.”

Trump has since described this as an “America first” policy, and expressed a similar distaste for our lopsided defense relationship with NATO and Saudi Arabia. He believes that ultimately, these countries are taking advantage of our military prowess. “So America first, yes, we will not be ripped off anymore. We’re going to be friendly with everybody, but we’re not going to be taken advantage of by anybody.”