WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� President tilted heavily on domestic issues, but he also made the case for his foreign policy efforts to Americans who are increasingly .
cheered brokering in Gaza and his team’s bringing home hostages taken by Hamas militants, autocratic leader in Venezuela and pressing fellow NATO members to among his biggest wins. He also warned Iran anew as he builds up U.S. forces in the region and weighs whether to carry out new military action against Tehran.
At a moment when polls show the American public increasingly , Trump’s assignment Tuesday evening also was to cut through thickening skepticism that he鈥檚 staying true to his 鈥淎merica First鈥� philosophy after a year in which his focus was often far from home. It’s a wariness shared by some who once counted themselves among Trump’s closest allies.
But Trump attempted to make the case that he’s taking the right approach balancing domestic policy concerns while using America’s military might when needed.
鈥淎s president, I will make peace wherever I can, but I will never hesitate to confront threats to America wherever we must,鈥� Trump said.
Sixty-one percent of U.S. adults said they disapprove of how Trump is handling foreign policy, while in using the U.S. military to intervene in other countries, according to surveys from conducted earlier this month and in January.
Here are a few moments where Trump sought to explain his foreign policy approach 13 months into his second term:
Why he is talking about attacking Iran again
Trump explained to Americans why he’s pondering military action, just eight months after he claimed that U.S. strikes had 鈥渙bliterated鈥� three critical Iranian nuclear facilities and but to make peace.
鈥淲e wiped it out and they want to start all over again. And they鈥檙e at this moment again pursuing their sinister ambitions,鈥� Trump said. 鈥淲e are in negotiations with them. They want to make a deal, but we haven鈥檛 heard those secret words: We will never have a nuclear weapon.鈥�
Earlier Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X: 鈥淥ur fundamental convictions are crystal clear: Iran will under no circumstances ever develop a nuclear weapon.鈥�
Trump envoys and are scheduled with Iranian officials.
But the pathway to a deal seems murky as the authoritarian clerics who rule Iran say they will only discuss the nuclear issue. The U.S. and Israel also want to address Iran鈥檚 ballistic missile program and its support for regional armed proxies, including Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis.
Trump struggles to end the war in Ukraine
Tuesday also of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
On the campaign trail, Trump boasted that he would be able to , but he has struggled to fulfill his pledge.
He made scant mention of the war in his record-setting 108-minute speech.
鈥淭he killing and slaughter between Russia and Ukraine, where 25,000 soldiers are dying each and every month,” Trump said, reiterating that he’s working to end the war.
Russian and Ukrainian officials are negotiating in U.S.-mediated talks but are at loggerheads over key issues, including Russian demands that Kyiv concede Ukrainian territory still in its control and who will get the , the biggest in Europe.
Trump appears eager for a peace deal before the U.S. midterm elections despite the challenges. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the White House has set a for the war鈥檚 end and will likely pressure both sides to meet it.
Another victory lap on Maduro and focus on Western Hemisphere
Trump again celebrated last month’s capture of the Venezuelan leader in an audacious military operation, saying the U.S. 鈥渏ust received from our new friend and partner, Venezuela, more than 80 million barrels of oil.鈥� The Trump administration had previously said it was orchestrating the effort to sell a total of about that had been stranded by a partial blockade imposed by the administration.
Trump paid tribute to a helicopter pilot who was wounded in the operation but still managed to carry out the mission and paused to award him the Congressional Medal of Honor.
He also introduced a former political prisoner, Enrique M谩rquez, who was freed by the Venezuelan government last month following the U.S. operation. He was a presidential candidate in the 2024 election and a former member of the National Electoral Council.
鈥淭his was an absolutely colossal victory for the security of the United States,鈥� Trump boasted.
Trump鈥檚 action against Maduro, coupled with in the Western Hemisphere aimed at eliminating drug trafficking and illegal migration, are a concern for many in the region 鈥� although they also have won support from some smaller countries.
Trump has likened the to the Monroe Doctrine, with its rejection of outside influences and assertion of U.S. primacy throughout what the administration considers to be 鈥淎merica鈥檚 backyard.”
U.S. forces, under Trump’s orders, have carried out dozens of military strikes on alleged drug-running vessels in the Caribbean, and tightened the embargo of Cuba as part of what the president is referring to as the
“We鈥檙e also restoring American security and dominance in the Western Hemisphere, acting to secure our national interests and defend our country from violence, drugs, terrorism and foreign interference,” Trump said.
Tariff strategy following Supreme Court ruling
The president ahead of the address ridiculed the six justices, including two conservatives he appointed in his first term, who last week of a 1977 legal authority he had cited for most of the tariff hikes he imposed over the past year on friends and foes alike.
In his speech, he took a more measured tone, calling the decision 鈥渁n unfortunate ruling from the United States Supreme Court.鈥�
Trump on Monday around the world to abide by any tariff deals they have already agreed to.
Any country that wants to 鈥減lay games鈥� with the Supreme Court decision, Trump posted on social media, will be met with 鈥渁 much higher Tariff, and worse, than that which they just recently agreed to.鈥�
鈥淭he good news is almost all countries and corporations want to keep the deal that they already made,” Trump said Tuesday. He added, 鈥淭he legal power that I as president have to make a new deal could be far worse for them and therefore they will continue to work along the same successful path we had negotiated before the Supreme Court鈥檚 unfortunate involvement.”
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Associated Press writers Regina Garcia Cano in Caracas, Venezuela, and Colin Binkley, Jonathan J. Cooper and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed reporting
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