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Donald Trump won’t rock US-Japan alliance, to keep firm focus on China if he returns to power: ex-aide
- Alexander Gray said Trump unlikely to significantly alter the trajectory of US foreign policy set forth by Biden
- He added China was ‘more malign than before’ on the trade front that could prompt the Republican to punish it with higher tariffs
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Donald Trump is almost certain to attach great importance to the US-Japan alliance if he returns to the White House, one of his former aides said on Wednesday.
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“I predict a lot of continuity, and the same things that motivated him when he was elected the first time, I think, continue to motivate him,” Alexander Gray, who was deputy assistant to the former president, said.
For Trump, Gray said that China would likely be regarded as the greatest threat to national security, and his foreign policy approach, with a strong emphasis on enhancing deterrence capabilities, is more relevant in 2025 than it was in 2017 when first he took office.
Referring to the decades-old US-Japan alliance, he said it is “beyond any one prime minister, any one president. It has such extraordinary strategic significance” to serve US interests and ensure stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
He also shrugged off deep-seated speculation should Trump win the November general election, he would significantly alter the trajectory of US foreign policy set forth by the administration of President Joe Biden, which has been marked by a focus on multilateral cooperation.
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