Trump Criticizes Previous U.S. Presidents While Announcing His Security Strategy

Donald Trump, the President of the United States, on Monday announced a new security strategy for the country, emphasizing his campaign slogan of prioritizing America, while blaming previous leaders for their inability to focus on American citizens. Mr. Trump highlighted the strong economic performance during his presidency, stating that 'our leaders were engaged in building the country outside of it and failed to build the country from within.' He criticized the previous U.S. administration's approach to the nuclear deal with Iran, known as the JCPOA, saying: 'They made a bad and unbelievable deal with Iran.' The U.S. President added that to counter Iran and prevent the country from acquiring nuclear weapons, he sanctioned the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for supporting terrorism and refrained from certifying the nuclear deal to Congress. On October 13, Donald Trump stated that he could not certify Iran's compliance with the nuclear agreement. The U.S. government is required to report to Congress every 90 days on Iran's compliance with the JCPOA. Mr. Trump has effectively refrained from certifying this, thus leaving the decision on whether to reinstate or impose sanctions against Iran to Congress. The U.S. President, whose new security strategy emphasizes 'permanent competition' among nations, stated in his introduction of this strategy that America is in the middle of a game and that America will win this game. According to the Associated Press, the new U.S. security strategy focuses on protecting the country, including building a wall on the southern border with Mexico and actions regarding immigration. He also emphasized enhancing the welfare of American citizens and promoting peace through strengthening and advancing American influence. Mr. Trump stated that the U.S. will continue to cooperate with other countries but 'within a framework that always protects its national interests.' The U.S. President stressed that his security strategy prioritizes America. The new U.S. security strategy, which was outlined to the media before Mr. Trump's remarks on Monday, takes a hardline stance toward China and Russia, stating that these two countries are trying to 'influence the world in a way that contradicts American values and interests.' The strategy warns that 'Russia and China are challenging American power, influence, and interests, seeking to undermine American security and economic success; reducing freedom and fairness in the global economic system, thereby increasing their military power, restricting information in their societies, and expanding their influence.' In this new security strategy, Iran and North Korea are referred to as 'rogue regimes' that, alongside the Islamic State group, pose a challenge to American security. The security strategy, which has recently completed its final stages of drafting, is an official document that all U.S. presidents have typically presented every four years since Ronald Reagan's presidency. This new strategy is announced at a time when U.S.-Russia relations have reached their lowest point since the end of the Cold War due to issues such as Russia's interference in Eastern Ukraine, the Syrian civil war, and allegations related to Moscow's interference in the 2016 presidential election. Since the beginning of his presidency in January 2017, Donald Trump has accused the Chinese government of employing unfair economic practices, criticized it for militarizing disputed areas in the South China Sea, and urged Beijing to apply more pressure on North Korea to halt its nuclear and missile programs.