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 Trump's speech, delivered with a teleprompter in a staid
Washington hotel ballroom, was an attempt to show he can be more
presidential and move past the rancorous rhetoric that he routinely
uses on the campaign trail.
"It is time to shake the rust off of America’s foreign policy," he
said in a speech that savaged the foreign policy of Democratic
President Barack Obama as a disaster.
The New York billionaire spoke the day after victories in five
Northeastern states that moved him closer to capturing the
Republican Party presidential nomination for the Nov. 8 election.
But the message Trump delivered appeared contradictory at times and
was largely devoid of details.
He spoke of building up the U.S. military as a deterrent to U.S.
adversaries, but said American allies in Europe and Asia would have
to pay more for U.S. defenses provided by Washington.
While issuing that stern message on paying for defense, Trump said
the United States under his leadership would be "a reliable friend
and ally again."
 Trump was sharply critical of immediate past presidents, both
Republican and Democratic, for getting Americans involved in
military conflicts abroad, but said the United States may well need
to use force to defeat Islamic State militants.
In perhaps his most specific policy prescription, Trump said he
would organize two summits, for NATO allies and Asian allies, to
discuss "rebalancing" the alliances to ease the financial burden to
the United States.
"The countries we defend must pay for the cost of this defense. If
not, the U.S. must be prepared to let these countries defend
themselves. We have no choice," Trump said.
Trump's speech was panned by his nearest rival for the Republican
nomination, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who said in a tweet:
"Donald's speech is the most dramatic evidence thus far that he
fails the presidential test."
Also critical was U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a
hawkish Republican who was a presidential candidate until dropping
out early this year.
“It’s isolationism surrounded by disconnected thought, demonstrates
lack of understanding threats we face,” Graham wrote on Twitter.
“Not sure who is advising Trump on foreign policy but I can
understand why he’s not revealing their names."
Trump has gone from outsider last year to party front-runner with a
plain-talking campaign that has often appealed to working-class
voters who feel let down by globalization, free trade and the
decline of American manufacturing in recent decades.
His foreign policy speech echoed that populist message - depicting a
need to ease the U.S. financial burden overseas, focus more on
nation-building at home and make sure American companies pay a price
for outsourcing jobs to countries where labor is cheaper.
 "My foreign policy will always put the interests of the American
people, and American security, above all else. That will be the
foundation of every decision that I will make," Trump said.
"'America first' will be the major and overriding theme of my
administration."
GERMANY REACTS
Niels Annen, foreign policy spokesman of the Social Democrat party
group in the German parliament, criticized Trump's speech in a
statement to Reuters.
"Trump‘s campaign gives America’s friends a feeling of uncertainty.
At least he seems to have realized that as a candidate for the White
House he would have to have a coherent foreign policy concept,"
Annen said.
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Political pundits quickly pointed out that "America First" was a
slogan first developed by famed aviator Charles Lindbergh, who
pushed a non-interventionist policy before the U.S. entry in World
War Two.
If Trump wins the nomination and runs against Democratic
front-runner Hillary Clinton, he will be up against a former
secretary of state steeped in foreign policy.
Clinton adviser Madeleine Albright, herself a former secretary of
state, said Trump’s address was centered on “simplistic slogans and
contradictions.”
"I’ve got to say, I’ve listened to a lot of foreign policy speeches
over the years, and have given a lot myself, and I was hoping it
would make some sense,” Albright said.
'SELLING A DREAM'
Jon Alterman, director of the Middle East program at the Center for
Strategic and International Studies think tank in Washington, said
Trump's speech did not contain enough details to call it a strategy.
"Ultimately, he’s selling a dream and he’s still not offering a
plan. He’s representing the sales office, but he’s given no clue of
who will be the architect and who will do the construction," he
said.
Trump did not stray from the ideas that have helped put him close to
winning the Republican presidential nomination. He would build up
the U.S. military but would use it only when necessary and would be
unpredictable in using force, as in the case of Islamic State.
"Their days are numbered. I won’t tell them where and I won’t tell
them how. We must, as a nation, be strong and resilient. They’re
going to be gone," he said.
Trump said U.S. leaders had allowed the American nuclear arsenal to
atrophy and that it was in desperate need of modernization. The
Obama administration is pushing a $1 trillion refurbishment program
over the next 30 years.
Trump was particularly withering in his critique of Obama's foreign
policy, saying the president had let China take advantage of the
United States and not been able to persuade Beijing to rein in North
Korea.
"We have the leverage. We have the power over China, economic
power," he said.
According to social media analytics firm Zoomph, Twitter reaction to
the speech was more positive than negative, with roughly 100 posts
per minute mentioning the Republican front-runner.
Walid Phares, a Trump foreign policy adviser, said Trump received
input for his address from a variety of advisers, such as U.S.
Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama.
(Additional reporting by Arshad Mohammed, David Brunnstrom, Amanda
Becker, Matt Spetalnick, Warren Strobel and Richard Cowan, Susan
Heavey and Doina Chiacu in Washington and Anjali Athavaley and
Melissa Fares in New York; Editing by Frances Kerry and Peter
Cooney)
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