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A person dressed in a satirical outfit imitating US President Donald Trump in Zurich

It is believed that US President Donald Trump first used the term “America First” in an interview with the New York Times while running in the Republican Party primaries in March 2016. When asked whether his policy was “isolationism,” he replied “I am not an isolationist, I’m America First,” adding, “That’s a good expression. I am America First.” It is through this path that America First became Trump’s campaign slogan. This idea was one of the core themes of his inauguration speech in January 2017, and has served as the foundation of his national administration. However, America First does not belong solely to Trump.

The concept was put forward in the 1910s by Democrat President Woodrow Wilson, and again by Republican President Warren Harding in the 1920s. Most recently, Pat Buchanan of the Reform Party also campaigned on America first in the 2000 presidential election. Buchanan was opposed to free trade, made a number of racial remarks and pledged to build a strong wall on the border. It is ironic that Trump, who is now employing the same rhetoric, contended with Buchanan for the Reform Party candidacy at that time, ultimately abandoning his campaign and criticizing Buchanan for being an “admirer of Hitler.”

However, as we all know, Trump does not feel tied to the past. He was quick to adopt America First as his own in a way that befits a businessman, becoming US president and sending political shockwaves around the world throughout the two years and seven months he has been in office. America First, which means making US interests the top priority in every field including immigration, trade, diplomacy, and defense, is undermining diversity and inclusion, which have been viewed to date as traditional American values. It is also overturning pre-existing notions about the global role and responsibility of the US. Both internally and externally, the US is becoming a country marked by growing hostility, exclusion, and inaction. The barriers to immigration are high, existing international organizations and agreements are being broken, and countries around the world are being asked to pay up. The ultimate focal point of Trump’s America First ideology is “money.”

We have almost become accustomed to the ignorant remarks about allies that spill out of Trump’s mouth, to the extent that they are no longer shocking. In an election campaign fundraising event on Aug. 9, Trump is reported to have said, “Getting US$1 billion from [South] Korea was easier than collecting US$114.13 in rent from a Brooklyn apartment,” and even imitated President Moon Jae-in’s way of speaking. He claims that the US is losing out by defending Korea with the United States Forces Korea (USFK), and that joint military training between the US and Korea is nothing but an expensive and useless war-game. In October last year, Trump said, “They [Korea] don’t do anything at all without our approval” with regard to the lifting of sanctions on North Korea. This attitude from Trump led the director of the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs to say, “Even if we engage in talks, it would be best to remember that this is between North Korea and the US, and not a dialogue between North and South Korea.” Trump is becoming the largest threat to the KORUS alliance.

Regarding the conflict between Korea and Japan, he stated, “Korea and Japan are always fighting. I hope they can get along with each other.” When asked why, he responded, “Because it makes things hard for us [the US].” After staying silent on the situation in Hong Kong, he belatedly took an interest only after receiving criticism.

The limits of Trump’s America First policy are now becoming clear. As evidenced by the recent decision to delay the levying of new tariffs on China by three months, the world is witnessing Trump make threats only to back down shortly after. Furthermore, countries are trying to break away from their attitude of dependence on the US and find ways to survive on their own. These trends can be viewed as a reduction in US power, or could also be labelled as disregard for the US. While America First may serve Trump’s administration, is it really good for the US, or the world?

By Hwang Joon-bum, Washington correspondent

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