by Roger Riffenburgh
The post-World War II order is over according to Professor Kiron Skinner. Speaking at SPARC, the Silicon Valley Chapter of the California Congress of Republicans, Skinner presented a coherent vision for Trump’s foreign policy that the mainstream media has not reported. While it made sense for the US to help get war-torn Europe back on its feet after the war, the European countries must now take more responsibility for their own defense..
The effect of U.S. support has been to subsidize the lavish social services of European governments, while many in our own country have been struggling, and our country has been running national deficits. Skinner said, “We can’t do everything we do around the world if we can’t take care of ourselves.” President Trump has realized this and moved in a new direction – to put America first.
Ms. Skinner is currently the Taube Professor of International Relations and Politics at the Pepperdine University School of Public Policy. She was Director of Policy Planning at the US State Department under Secretary Mike Pompeo from 2018 to 2019. She authored the Department of State chapter of Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise, the policy agenda of Project 2025. This is the plan organized by The Heritage Foundation to implement conservative approaches in the federal government and “deconstruct the Administrative State”. She is also a research fellow at the Hoover Institution. She has co-authored two books about Ronald Reagan and written opinion essays for numerous publications.
Trump’s most powerful idea is a return to national sovereignty, Skinner says. One concern is that the US is a member of various international organizations which take positions against the US interest. Applying pressure or leaving such organizations are options. Another concern is that employees of the US State Department and other agencies act to promote what they think is best instead of following the president’s agenda. Skinner thinks it’s essential for personnel to be aligned with the president.
Skinner contrasted the current redirection of America’s foreign policy with that of the Reagan years. While the Reagan Revolution ended when Reagan left office, Trump’s America First movement has the potential to be transformational and continue beyond Trump’s time in office.
Skinner also observed that making policy can be messy – sometimes you try something that doesn’t work and move on to another option. We are watching this process as the administration attempts to end the Russia-Ukraine war. She said that views among Trump’s advisors are divided but that the administration needs to speak with one voice.
Kiron Skinner has Bay Area connections. She grew up in Redwood City and graduated from San Mateo High School. She earned an associate degree at Sacramento City College and a bachelor’s in political science at Spelman College in Atlanta. Then she earned an MA and PhD in political science and international relations from Harvard. You can read her Project 25 discussion of the State Department and current foreign policy issues here.
