Presented in Partnership with
ARGUING YES
Associate Professor at University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy; Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute
ARGUING YES
Senior Fellow with the Reimagining US Grand Strategy Program at the Stimson Center
ARGUING NO
Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations; Professor of International Affairs at Georgetown University
ARGUING NO
Fellow for Europe at the Council on Foreign Relations
MODERATOR
Host and Moderator-in-Chief
This week:
- New episode: From Ukraine to China, can allies trust the U.S.?
- Your Sunday reading list
Join us this week for a new episode that was part of a day-long summit produced in partnership with the Council on Foreign Relations, which seeks to examine some of President Trump’s key foreign policy moves to date.
Our prior episodes focused on Russia and Israel specifically. This week, we are examining more broadly whether the United States can be considered a reliable ally.
Substantive arguments were made by our debaters. Is it time for some “tough love” for allies, and is there a world in which America has become too reliable in recent years, or is America creating a regrettable leadership vacuum, where too much uncertainty could undermine relationships with long-term strategic partners?
Arguing that Trump’s America is indeed a reliable ally were University of Maryland professor Joshua Shifrinson and the Stimson Center’s Kelly Grieco. Arguing on the other side were two Council on Foreign Relations fellows: Charles Kupchan and Liana Fix.
It’s a debate with two compelling sides and some interesting historical detours. An engaged, live crowd responded to the arguments from both teams, who brought their best to the debate stage. We were delighted to host them for this discussion.
Listen to the debate, and as always, let us know what you think.
PS: We’re actively monitoring the latest developments happening now in the Middle East. As we watch closely to see what happens next, check out these debates on the Iran threat and whether Israel should strike them for extra context, along with other topics in our extensive library.
POINT/COUNTERPOINT
Is Trump’s America A Reliable Ally?
YES: Joshua Shifrinson
“Is Trump’s America a reliable ally? Compared to what? Compared to the 1950s when then-President Dwight Eisenhower, and this is a direct quote, threatened a heroic abandonment of American allies in Europe? Compared to the Nixon Doctrine, the 1960s, when then-President Richard Nixon reminded the Asian allies that they’d be responsible, first and foremost for their security?… In fact, America today is as reliable as it ever has been — imperfectly reliable.”
NO: Liana Fix
“So debating whether the United States is still a reliable ally, perhaps we should ask those who are on the receiving end. Let’s take the Europeans. They have huge concerns that when Donald Trump says that Vladimir Putin can do whatever he wants to, allies that do not spend enough on defense, that this is not just a negotiation tactic. This is not just being rude to force Europeans to spend more. This is not to strengthen NATO. This is out of a fundamental disregard for the value of alliances.”
YES: Kelly Grieco
“When it matters and when it counts, not everywhere, not always, but when the stakes are vital, the United States shows up. Let’s be clear: U.S. commitments were never unconditional, alliances are not friendships. They’re hard bargains driven by shared interests. Let’s not confuse reliability with whether Trump is polite… We’re upgrading our military command in Japan, and we just conducted our largest ever exercise in the Philippines. That’s reliability and action, and our allies know it.”
NO: Charles Kupchan
“The people that were in office before him, from Clinton to George W. Bush to Obama to Biden, they tried to navigate… and sustain the rules-based order, even though it was hollowing out at home and becoming harder to sustain abroad. Trump comes in and he says, ‘I’m gonna take the order down. I’m gonna take a wrecking ball to the world America made.’ In taking that wrecking ball to the world, he has left allies uncertain and deeply doubtful of America’s reliability.”
WEEKLY POINTS OF VIEW
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