President-elect Donald Trump’s return to power on January 20 is one of the most anticipated of any modern presidency and is likely to be one of the most consequential. America’s friends and adversaries are watching closely and thinking hard about their relationships with the United States.
Trump’s election-winning ‘America first’ vision foresees a strong America in the world that is respected and seeking peace through strength. America’s allies need to hear the message the American people have sent and calibrate their partnerships in order to work with and alongside the U.S. to stand up for the joint interests that unite us.
The astute among America’s allies will be observing the comprehensive nature of Trump’s November election win. On the numbers alone – across the popular vote and spanning different demographic groups – this victory demonstrated a campaign that responded to the central concerns and interests of a vast swath of the American people.
Trump’s great skill as a political campaigner is to tap into sections of an electorate that feel unheard. Having been at the core of three winning UK election campaigns, I know well that this ability to build such a coalition across the country is the holy grail and key to political success.
His victory can be seen to represent the many Americans who work hard, yet for whom life is a struggle; communities that fear prices at the checkout, witness illegal migration accelerating and see opportunities for their children diminishing. Working people who feel their concerns have been either ignored or, worse, stigmatized by traditional politics.
Five decades as a politician and latterly as a businessman have taught me always to hear your electorate and listen to your customer. Alliances between foreign nations need to do the same. Foreign relationships must hear these messages and evolve rapidly to deliver for their citizens. The Atlantic alliance cannot simply enjoy its glorious past – it must adapt to new threats and technological challenges.
I am listening hard to the message that millions of Americans delivered in November. Tuning into a similar set of concerns among large chunks of the British public, such as addressing the rising cost of living and making our streets safe again, won my party a comprehensive victory in July last year.
As I prepare to start my role as custodian of a decades-old ‘special relationship,’ I reflect on my work with multiple U.S. administrations – Republican and Democrat – across the intensive U.S.-U.K. relationship. I see three areas of major potential for expanded partnership between Britain and today’s America: economic growth, national security and foreign policy realism.
It is taken for granted that the U.K. and U.S. are the closest defense and intelligence partners in the world. This work is invaluable and keeps millions of Americans and Brits secure each day. But our national security partnerships must be clearer in how they keep our people safe.
Sensible European governments will be thinking hard about their defense partnership with the U.S. While Europe has made an enormous contribution to defending against an aggressive and reckless Russia on its doorstep – spending over $150 billion in Ukraine – Americans are right to ask if NATO partners can do more to reduce the U.S.’s out-sized burden.
The U.K. has been at the forefront of driving NATO allies to increase their national defense spending and will continue to advocate for partners to pay their way.
Growing the economy and increasing living standards is at the top of the U.K. government agenda. The U.S. and U.K. are each other’s largest single investors with over $960 billion in mutual investment. Our businesses create over a million jobs in each other’s country, and we have a strong and balanced trading relationship, worth over $375 billion with the U.S. figures showing a trade surplus with the U.K.
Having co-founded a global business in the U.S. and employed Americans in London, I have witnessed firsthand the synergies created by these ties. We are innovators and deal-making nations. And as only two western countries on the planet with trillion-dollar tech sectors, we must do more together to invent, develop and industrialize the technologies of tomorrow.
We are hungry to trade more and innovate more with America – but we must do so in a way that generates good, well-paid jobs for all our citizens and keeps us ahead in the global race.
Finally, we must operate in the world we find not the world we would ideally like. Since I was last in government, many of our adversaries have become emboldened. Iran has been seriously set back in recent months but is still a thoroughly malign force in the region. We must not ever allow it to become nuclear armed.
It is taken for granted that the U.K. and U.S. are the closest defense and intelligence partners in the world. This work is invaluable and keeps millions of Americans and Brits secure each day. But our national security partnerships must be clearer in how they keep our people safe.
The Chinese government I have observed intensively over the past 20 years is more aggressive abroad and controlling at home and in many sectors, now directly challenges Western governments and our values.
Trump’s straight talking has earned him a resounding victory in his own country. His straight-talking and deal-making instincts overseas should be viewed by allies as a significant opportunity to bring entrepreneurial thinking and urgency to resolving foreign policy that needs real-world solutions.
The Trump administration will rightly put the needs of Americans first. But in its closest allies, it will find old partners open to new ways of dealing with the current world – to protect, enrich and build opportunities for Americans and our own citizens alike.