This article describes the foreign policy positions taken by Donald Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign (announced June 16, 2015).

Overview In a New York Times interview in July 2016, Trump "repeatedly defined American global interests almost purely in economic terms," with the nation's "roles as a peacekeeper, as a provider of a nuclear deterrent against adversaries like North Korea, as an advocate of human rights and as a guarantor of allies' borders" being "quickly reduced to questions of economic benefit to the United States."

A 68-page document likely written by and under the direction of the Trump administration's national security adviser, Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster was released by the Trump administration in December 2017, which has been referred to as outlining the administration's doctrine pertaining to foreign policy goals.

United States Armed Forces and defense spending Trump stated in a December 2015 Republican primary debate that "Our military is a disaster," and in a July 2016 on-air radio broadcast described the United States Armed Forces as "depleted and in horrible shape."C. Eugene Emery Jr., Hillary Clinton says Donald Trump has called the U.S. military 'a disaster', PolitiFact (July 29, 2016).Louis Jacobson, Rear Adm. John Hutson says Donald Trump 'called the military that I served in a disaster', PolitiFact (July 27, 2016).

In July 2016, retired U.S. Marine Corps General John R. Allen, who supported Trump's opponent Hillary Clinton, gave a forceful speech against Trump at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Trump responded by calling the four-star military leader "a failed general" and saying that he had never met him.

Trump stated on several occasions that if elected president, he "would increase [spending] on the military." Trump claimed that the United States Armed Forces would be "funded beautifully" if he was elected president. While Trump did not offer specifics on defense spending under a Trump presidency, he repeatedly called for a U.S. military buildup and criticized President Barack Obama's military spending strategy. Trump has criticized the decline in the numbers of active-duty armed forces, Navy ships and Air Force planes since the end of the Cold War. Trump has pledged to rein in wasteful spending in the military.

In an interview with Fox News in June 2015, Trump claimed: "There's nobody bigger or better at the military than I am." In an interview with The Washington Post, Trump said that he would not reveal his military plans for fear of informing the enemy: "I don't want them to know what I'm thinking, does that make sense? I want people to be guessing  ... I don't want people to figure it out. I don't want people to know what my plan is. I have plans. I have plans! But I don't want to do it."

Diplomacy and U.S. allies Trump has stated his intention to provide presidential leadership with strong diplomacy to restore "respect" for the United States around the world. He supports a robust national defense. In an interview with Bill O'Reilly, Trump claimed that he had a proven record in negotiating with foreign countries. "I've made a fortune with foreign countries."

Trump has stated, "We Americans are laughed at around the world for losing a hundred and fifty billion dollars year after year, for defending wealthy nations for nothing, nations that would be wiped off the face of the earth in about 15 minutes if it weren't for us. Our 'allies' are making billions screwing us." Trump has called for allied countries, including Germany, Israel, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea to pay the United States for helping protect their nations.

Foreign policy advisors Trump unveiled a list of foreign policy advisors in April 2016: Joseph E. Schmitz, Walid Phares, Keith Kellogg, Carter Page, Bert Mizusawa, Gary Harrell, Chuck Kubic and George Papadopoulos. Retired Lt. General Michael Flynn is also a Trump foreign policy advisor (and was reportedly on Trump's shortlist for running mate). Politico noted that several of those cited on the list "are complete unknowns; others have mixed reputations among GOP national security pros." According to Duke political science professor Peter Feaver, the list "looks more like an ad hoc coalition of the willing than any deliberate effort to reflect a particular candidate's vision of America's role in the world." After it was reported that Carter Page was being investigated for allegedly meeting with Kremlin officials over the summer of 2016, a Trump campaign spokesman denied that Page had ever been part of the campaign, except as an "informal adviser".

Two of the advisors on the list "view Islamic Sharia law within the U.S. as a dire threat—even though many conservatives consider the issue a fringe obsession." One of the advisors "has accused the State Department's top official for Ukraine and Russia, Victoria Nuland, of "fomenting" the 2014 revolution that overthrew Ukraine's government." According to a former colleague, Flynn has argued for a more aggressive approach to U.S. interests around the world. A review of Flynn's book The Field of Fight (2016) by Will McCants of the Brookings Institution describes Flynn's vision as a combination of neoconservatism (his insistence on destroying what he sees an alliance of tyranny, dictatorships, and radical Islamist regimes) and realism (support for working with "friendly tyrants"). However, like Trump, Flynn has been a critic of the U.S.'s military involvement in Iraq and Libya as well as its support for the Syrian opposition, and has advocated for closer ties with Russia. Flynn has said that Trump's strategic approach is to "start really, really high and really, really hard, OK? And then, be prepared to get down to where you think you can actually negotiate." Flynn also disputed the notion that Trump would order the military to kill the families of terrorists and complimented Trump's ability to surround himself with good people.

Previously when asked about who he was consulting with on foreign policy during an interview on MSNBC's Morning Joe, Trump responded with "I'm speaking with myself, number one, because I have a very good brain and I've said a lot of things". Some of Trump's foreign policy ideas have been met with opposition by the foreign policy establishment of the Republican Party (GOP). The Economist Intelligence Unit placed a Trump victory in the 2016 United States presidential election fifth in their list of ten global risks for 2016, citing his foreign policy positions which increase the risk of trade war, him being used as a potent recruitment tool for jihadi groups and weakened efforts to contain Russia's expansionist tendencies.

Post-inauguration, President Trump has been accused of "abandoning the foreign policy that brought him victory" and "as a disappointment for those who hoped for a break from the liberal interventionist/neoconservative synthesis. ... It doesn't appear that he has any foreign policy realists around him, or anyone with a restrained view of America's international responsibilities." (See Appointments section in the article Foreign policy of the first Donald Trump administration.)

Americas Cuba

In September 2016, Trump expressed his opposition to the restoration of full diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba achieved in July 2015. As part of the restoration of full diplomatic relations, the United States embargo against Cuba remains in place, but a series of regulations have been loosened to allow more American companies to sell their products in Cuba. Trump said that he would only restore full diplomatic relations with Cuba if the Cuban regime met his demands to restore political freedoms and free political prisoners. This is a shift from the position expressed in September 2015 when he said that the opening with Cuba was "fine. But we should have made a better deal."

In February 2016, Trump said that he opposed the Cuban Adjustment Act, which allows any Cuban who reaches U.S. soil to remain in the country legally and apply for residency. Trump said, "I don't think that's fair. I mean, why would that be a fair thing?"

On the first day of the Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2000, Trump held an event in Miami where he vowed to maintain the embargo on Cuba and never spend his or his companies' money in Cuba until Fidel Castro was removed from power. However, according to reporting by Newsweek in September 2016, Trump had conducted business in Cuba in violation of the embargo seven months before his vow. Bloomberg News reported in July 2016 that Trump Organization executives and advisers traveled to Havana in late 2012 or early 2013 to explore golf-course developments in Cuba, possibly a violation of the embargo.

Mexico

Trump has emphasized U.S. border security as well as illegal immigration to the United States as a campaign issue. During his announcement speech he falsely stated in part, "When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you. They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems. ... They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people." On July 6, 2015, Trump issued a written statement to clarify his position on illegal immigration which drew a reaction from critics. It read in part:

A study published in Social Science Quarterly in May 2016 tested Trump's claim that immigrants are responsible for higher levels of violent and drug-related crime in the United States. It found no evidence that links Mexican or undocumented Mexican immigrants specifically to violent or drug-related crime. It did however find a small but significant association between undocumented immigrant populations (including non-Mexican undocumented immigrants) and drug-related arrests.

Trump has repeatedly pledged to build a wall along the U.S.'s southern border and has said that Mexico would pay for it through increased border-crossing fees and NAFTA tariffs. In his speech announcing his candidacy, Trump pledged to "build a great, great wall on our southern border. And I will have Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words."Kate Drew, This is what Trump's border wall could cost US: A roughly 2,000-mile fence on the Mexican border would cost tens of billions, CNBC (October 9, 2015). Trump also said "nobody builds walls better than me, believe me, and I'll build them very inexpensively." The concept for building a barrier to keep illegal immigrants out of the U.S. is not new; 670 miles of fencing (about one-third of the border) was erected under the Secure Fence Act of 2006, at a cost of $2.4 billion. Trump said later that his proposed wall would be "a real wall. Not a toy wall like we have now." In his 2015 book, Trump cites the Israeli West Bank barrier as a successful example of a border wall. "Trump has at times suggested building a wall across the nearly 2,000-mile border and at other times indicated more selective placement."Stephen Loiaconi, Experts: Trump's border wall could be costly, ineffective, Sinclair Broadcast Group (August 18, 2015). After a meeting with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto on August 31, 2016, Trump said that they "didn't discuss" who would pay for the border wall that Trump has made a centerpiece of his presidential campaign. Nieto contradicted that later that day, saying that he at the start of the meeting "made it clear that Mexico will not pay for the wall". Later that day, Trump reiterated his position that Mexico will pay to build an "impenetrable" wall on the Southern border.