Is America Becoming Isolationist?

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As the White House continues to play a key role in two conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, a majority of Republicans now advocate for the United States to adopt a more restrained approach to world affairs—a sharp change from the past. “Trump Republicans” exhibit notably more skepticism toward U.S. involvement in foreign conflicts, according to a recent survey produced by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. 

Tune in to a discussion about the implications of these findings with Ivo Daalder, CEO of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and the former U.S. ambassador to NATO under President Barack Obama.

Video clips from this event

  • Ivo Daalder, former U.S. ambassador to NATO and CEO of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, explains the most significant finding in the recent study the council put out about Americans’ desire to stay out of world affairs.

  • Daalder breaks down how Donald Trump mobilized the more isolationist part of the American electorate and brought it into the Republican fold.

  • Daalder explains why it is a mistake to believe that the country as a whole is becoming more isolationist and wants to retreat from its engagements around the world but describes Trump as a major political force mobilizing the country in the opposite direction.

  • As a former U.S. envoy to NATO, Daalder talks about how America’s allies view the isolationist shift in the country and Trump’s threats to remove U.S. support for NATO.

  • Daalder takes an FP subscriber question about whether the change in American attitudes about staying out of world affairs is a reflection of changing demographics in the United States.

Read the Transcript

Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump gestures to supporters as Sen. Tim Scott looks on during an election night watch party at the state fairgrounds in Columbia, South Carolina.

How Trump Is Mobilizing an Isolationist Worldview

Ivo Daalder, a former U.S. ambassador to NATO, on a startling new survey of Americans’ desire to stay out of world affairs.

Insider  |  Ravi Agrawal

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Is America Becoming Isolationist?

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