Representative Gregory W. Meeks, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, delivered the following keynote address – as prepared – at Foreign Policy for America’s annual leadership summit focused on “the future of US foreign policy”
By Gregory W. Meeks
These last four months we have witnessed a fundamental shift in American foreign policy. Our democratic allies are treated as our adversaries, while our adversaries are treated as allies. A global trade war has nearly overnight united global sentiment against the United States. And the idea that the US would invade or annex a sovereign ally is no longer treated as a joke by a provocateur president – but taken very, very seriously.
That message was made clear to me while visiting Denmark last month, where I was asked “how could one of our closest partners, a NATO ally, the UNITED STATES… threaten to take some of our Kingdom by force?
And the international order the United States led in creating post-World War 2 has been abandoned and demonized by an administration that would see the U.S. retreat from the world stage in the name of “America first.”
But retreating from international bodies and letting autocrats and tyrants dictate the future of the world isn’t putting America first. Dismantling diplomacy and development agencies working to save lives, stop pandemics, and prevent conflict and instability from reaching our borders isn’t putting American first. Starting a trade war that has imposed the largest peace-time tax on Americans is not putting Americans first.
What “America first” has done is reorient America away from the democracies Donald Trump holds into contempt and toward the autocrats he admires.
When Donald Trump last left office, and I spoke with world leaders, foreign ministers and ambassadors, I would often say America is back. We’re back at the table, as leaders of the free world. Their reply back to me would often be, “yes, but for how long?”
Now re-elected, it is difficult to argue that Donald Trump was a glitch in the system, an aberration, a one-off.
But America is not alone in this; Trump is not a new phenomenon. The rise of alt-right populism is global, and it has grown increasingly coordinated. And the threat to the democratic rules-based system is not emanating solely from China, or Russia. We are seeing this threat come from within. When it comes to the war over the future of that international order – democracy vs tyranny – the front lines are at home. And understanding what has given rise to that trend is key to overcoming it.
As the Yale historian Timothy Snyder reflected, when drawing historical analogies, “both fascism and communism were responses to globalization: to the real and perceived inequities it created, and the apparent helplessness of the democracies in addressing them.”
The future of our foreign policy will be determined by whether like-minded countries governed by democratic values can prove the value of democracy.
And the truth is, we are at a key disadvantage. Because building institutions that work – domestic and especially international institutions – is hard. Bureaucracy is set up to be deliberative, rules based and requires building consensus to work. But tearing institutions down to exploit that dysfunction and take power? That’s the easier job.
As Churchill famously said, democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the other ones. But that is not a winning argument. We cannot assume that “democracy” is a term that remains sacrosanct to the public. And while we all here believe in the value of the rules-based international order, one that ushered in 70 years of relative peace and prosperity, people don’t compare their lives to the history books. They feel an economic system that’s left them behind. They see Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the war in Gaza, the world’s worst humanitarian crisis in Sudan. They see a world going in the wrong direction.
The systems meant to intervene in these crises have been reduced to a joke: a strongly worded letter of condemnation by the UN, a Security Council where Russia – itself a driver of international conflict – holds veto power. People are right wonder if these systems deliver.
As leaders, we must demonstrate that democracies and international bodies can be responsive and diplomacy can be effective. We must make a better case for their worth, and their purpose. Because we should not have to relive history’s darkest moments before we find better solutions; where a United Nations is only built on the graveyard of a World War.
Ultimately, the world is too small to go it alone. Our economies are interconnected, our people are interconnected. And what happens in one part of the world – a pandemic, a humanitarian crisis, or a war – that affects us all.
I’ve had the privilege of serving the people of the 5th district of New York in Congress since 1998. This is one of the most diverse districts in the country, home to over 250 ethnicities and languages. JFK airport is in my district. I haven’t had to travel the world to understand how interconnected we all are. That’s why, when I came to Congress, I made it a priority to be on the Foreign Affairs Committee.
The question, ultimately, is not whether to engage with the world but how. How we leverage our relationships to reflect our values. Even Donald Trump knows that. The difference is he wants to make the world more cynical and in service to billionaires and strong men, a world not borne down by commitments to democratic values or human rights.
Those who don’t buy into that nihilistic view of the world – work to mold the world to make it more just, cooperative and equitable. And that arc of history may be long, but I do believe it bends toward those ideals; because they are innate to humanity. And that’s our advantage.
And the greatest gift that Trumpism has given us is example after example of how their model is innately cruel and self-defeating.
Look no further than Canada, where voters were so repulsed by Trumpism that it changed the course of their entire election. Sorry for the tariffs, and you’re welcome?
So, yes, the so-called “America first” doctrine is back, but for how long?
Truthfully, I cannot stand here and say what the future of foreign policy will look like in the aftermath of this administration. I cannot preach policy solutions to the moment we’re in as if business is usual; as if our politics is normal. We do not yet know the damage that can be done in the next four years.
But we do know that when America looks to rebuild its credibility and lead again, there will be work to do. The State Department will need to be rebuilt. U.S. foreign assistance will need to be not just resurrected, but reimagined.
And when we do look to re-staffing our national security agencies, it will be an opportunity to draw talent from a broader cross-section of America. Those who know my work know I’ve prioritized addressing the challenge of diversity at State and USAID, to ensure that all those historically excluded from serving their country have a fair shot at doing so. Diversity of backgrounds and perspectives decision making; diversity is not the dirty word this administration makes it out to be. It is one of our country’s greatest strengths.
And as we reclaim our democratic principles and restore our global partnerships, we must also embrace our core strength.
As president Biden said, “America’s strength is not the example of its power but the power of its example.”
What distinguishes America is not perfection, but that pursuit of a more perfect union. To live up to the values we proclaim, and the truths we hold self-evident.
Because it wasn’t long ago in our nation’s history that “all men are created equal” didn’t include women, or people like me. I remember being a child in South Carolina where I saw “Blacks need not apply” on a window ad for a job opening. Four years ago I was elected the first African-American Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
What makes America great is that it’s a nation founded on an idea. We are a tapestry of all people who’ve come here on that idea. Our people-to-people ties are a unique and powerful foreign policy advantage; we should be leveraging that.
Because all nations mostly want the same thing. They want a better future for their children, dignity, respect. A successful foreign policy for America is one that understands that the operative word in global community is community.
I’ve had the honor of traveling to parts of the world that have historically been on America’s backburner, places I believe belong on our front burner. And when I ask, “how can we strengthen our partnerships and engage in a way that is of mutual benefit,” they simply ask that we are there, that we engage. They want us to be a partner of choice.
To be that partner, we must prove that we are different than our competitors and adversaries; that our values don’t only apply when convenient; that American doesn’t only show up when it wants something. Beijing points to US hypocrisy and dysfunction to discredit us. Let’s not make that argument for them.
We face a tremendous task – to reclaim our values, rebuild institutions meant to uphold them, and craft a foreign policy that honors and benefits all. I’m optimistic today because it is those of you here in this room that will be part of that effort in the years ahead. You – our next generation of policymakers, community organizers, foreign policy leaders – will bring your best ideas forward to help realize that future of foreign policy in America.
When the United States turns the page on this chapter, we must do so with humility, and a renewed focus on what makes us exceptional: our values, our example, and our belief in a better world.
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