Ronald Reagan Building and International
Trade Center
Washington, D.C.
2:03 P.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much.
Thank you. Please. I want to thank Vice President Pence,
along with the many members of my Cabinet here with us today.
I also want to thank all of the dedicated
professionals — military, civilian, and law enforcement — who devote
their lives to serving our nation. In particular, I want to
recognize General Dunford and the members of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff. Thank you, thank you, thank you. (Applause.)
In addition, we are honored to be joined
by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Homeland Security Chairman
Mike McCaul, and Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn. Thank you very
much. Thank you for being here. Thank you. Thank
you. (Applause.)
Let me begin by expressing our deepest
sympathies and most heartfelt prayers for the victims of the train
derailment in Washington State. We are closely monitoring the
situation and coordinating with local authorities. It is all the
more reason why we must start immediately fixing the infrastructure of
the United States.
We’re here today to discuss matters of
vital importance to us all: America’s security, prosperity, and
standing in the world. I want to talk about where we’ve been,
where we are now, and, finally, our strategy for where we are going in
the years ahead.
Over the past 11 months, I have traveled
tens of thousands of miles to visit 13 countries. I have met with
more than 100 world leaders. I have carried America’s message to
a grand hall in Saudi Arabia, a great square in Warsaw, to the General
Assembly of the United Nations, and to the seat of democracy on the
Korean Peninsula. Everywhere I traveled, it was my highest
privilege and greatest honor to represent the American people.
Throughout our history, the American
people have always been the true source of American greatness.
Our people have promoted our culture and promoted our values.
Americans have fought and sacrificed on the battlefields all over the
world. We have liberated captive nations, transformed former
enemies into the best of friends, and lifted entire regions of the
planet from poverty to prosperity.
Because of our people, America has been
among the greatest forces for peace and justice in the history of the
world. The American people are generous. You are
determined, you are brave, you are strong, and you are wise.
When the American people speak, all of us
should listen. And just over one year ago, you spoke loud and you
spoke clear. On November 8, 2016, you voted to make America great
again. (Applause.) You embraced new leadership and very new
strategies, and also a glorious new hope. That is why we are here
today.
But to seize the opportunities of the
future, we must first understand the failures of the past. For
many years, our citizens watched as Washington politicians presided
over one disappointment after another. To many of our leaders —
so many who forgot whose voices they were to respect and whose
interests they were supposed to defend — our leaders in Washington
negotiated disastrous trade deals that brought massive profits to many
foreign nations, but sent thousands of American factories, and millions
of American jobs, to those other countries.
Our leaders engaged in nation-building
abroad ,
while they failed to build up and replenish our nation at home.
They undercut and shortchanged our men and women in uniform with
inadequate resources, unstable funding, and unclear missions2.
They failed to insist that our often very wealthy allies pay their fair
share for defense, putting a massive and unfair burden on the U.S.
taxpayer and our great U.S. military.
They neglected3 a nuclear menace in North
Korea; made a disastrous, weak, and incomprehensibly bad deal with Iran4; and allowed
terrorists 5such
as ISIS to gain control of vast parts of territory6 all across the Middle East.
They put American energy under lock and
key. They imposed punishing regulations and crippling
taxes. They surrendered our sovereignty to foreign bureaucrats in
faraway and distant capitals.
And over the profound objections of the
American people, our politicians left our borders wide open.
Millions of immigrants entered illegally. Millions more were
admitted into our country without the proper vetting needed to protect
our security and our economy. Leaders in Washington imposed on
the country an immigration policy that Americans never voted for, never
asked for, and never approved — a policy where the wrong people are
allowed into our country and the right people are rejected.
American citizens, as usual, have been left to bear the cost and to
pick up the tab.
On top of everything else, our leaders
drifted from American principles. They lost sight of America’s
destiny7.
And they lost their belief in American greatness. As a result,
our citizens lost something as well. The people lost confidence
in their government and, eventually, even lost confidence in their
future.
But last year, all of that began to
change. The American people rejected the failures of the
past. You rediscovered your voice and reclaimed ownership of this
nation and its destiny.
On January 20th, 2017, I stood on the
steps of the Capitol to herald the day the people became the rulers of
their nation again. (Applause.) Thank you. Now, less
than one year later, I am proud to report that the entire world has
heard the news and has already seen the signs. America is coming
back, and America is coming back strong.
Upon my inauguration, I announced that
the United States would return to a simple principle: The first
duty of our government is to serve its citizens, many of whom have been
forgotten. But they are not forgotten anymore. With every
decision and every action, we are now putting America first.
We are rebuilding our nation, our
confidence, and our standing in the world. We have moved swiftly
to confront our challenges, and we have confronted them head-on.
We are once again investing in our
defense — almost $700 billion, a record, this coming year. We are
demanding extraordinary strength, which will hopefully lead to long and
extraordinary peace. We are giving our courageous military men
and women the support they need and so dearly deserve.
We have withdrawn the United States from
job-killing deals such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the very
expensive and unfair Paris Climate Accord. And on our trip to
Asia last month, I announced that we will no longer tolerate trading
abuse.
We have established strict new vetting
procedures to keep terrorists out of the
United States, and our vetting8 is getting tougher each month.
To counter Iran and block its path to a
nuclear weapon, I sanctioned9 the Islamic Revolutionary Guard
Corps for its support of terrorism, and I declined to certify the Iran
Deal to Congress.
Following my trip to the Middle East, the
Gulf states and other Muslim-majority nations joined together to fight
radical Islamist10 ideology and
terrorist financing. We have dealt ISIS one devastating defeat
after another. The coalition to defeat ISIS has now recaptured
almost 100 percent of the land once held by these terrorists in Iraq
and Syria. Great job. (Applause.) Great job.
Really good. Thank you. Thank you. We have a great
military. We’re now chasing them wherever they flee, and we will
not let them into the United States.
In Afghanistan, our troops are no longer
undermined by artificial timelines, and we no longer tell our enemies
of our plans. We are beginning to see results on the
battlefield. And we have made clear to Pakistan that while we
desire continued partnership, we must see decisive action against
terrorist groups operating on their territory. And we make
massive payments every year to Pakistan. They have to help.
Our efforts to strengthen the NATO
Alliance set the stage for significant increases in member
contributions, with tens of billions of dollars more pouring in because
I would not allow member states to be delinquent in the payment while
we guarantee their safety and are willing to fight wars for them.
We have made clear that countries that are immensely wealthy should
reimburse the United States for the cost of defending them. This
is a major departure from the past, but a fair and necessary one —
necessary for our country, necessary for our taxpayer, necessary for
our own thought process.
Our campaign of maximum pressure on the
North Korean regime has resulted in the toughest-ever sanctions.
We have united our allies in an unprecedented effort to isolate North
Korea. However, there is much more work to do. America and
its allies will take all necessary steps to achieve a denuclearization
and ensure that this regime cannot threaten the world.
(Applause.) Thank you. This situation should have been
taken care of long before I got into office, when it was much easier to
handle. But it will be taken care of. We have no choice.
At home, we are keeping our promises and
liberating the American economy. We have created more than 2
million jobs since the election. Unemployment is at a
17-year-low. The stock market is at an all-time high and, just a
little while ago, hit yet another all-time high — the 85th time since
my election. (Applause.)
We have cut 22 regulations for every one
new regulation, the most in the history of our country. We have
unlocked America’s vast energy resources.
As the world watches — and the world is
indeed watching — we are days away from passing historic tax cuts for
American families and businesses. It will be the biggest tax cut
and tax reform in the history of our country. (Applause.)
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
And we are seeing the response we fully
expected. Economic growth has topped 3 percent for two quarters
in a row. GDP growth, which is way ahead of schedule under my
administration, will be one of America’s truly greatest weapons.
Optimism has surged. Confidence has
returned. With this new confidence, we are also bringing back
clarity to our thinking. We are reasserting these fundamental
truths:
A nation without borders is not a
nation. (Applause.)
A nation that does not protect prosperity
at home cannot protect its interests abroad.
A nation that is not prepared to win a
war is a nation not capable of preventing a war.
A nation that is not proud of its history
cannot be confident in its future.
And a nation that is not certain of its
values cannot summon the will to defend them.
Today, grounded in these truths, we are
presenting to the world our new National Security Strategy. Based
on my direction, this document has been in development for over a
year. It has the endorsement of my entire Cabinet.
Our new strategy is based on a principled
realism, guided by our vital national interests, and rooted in our
timeless values.
This strategy recognizes that, whether we
like it or not, we are engaged in a new era of competition. We
accept that vigorous military, economic, and political contests are now
playing out all around the world.
We face rogue regimes that threaten the
United States and our allies. We face terrorist organizations,
transnational criminal networks, and others who spread violence and
evil around the globe.
We also face rival powers, Russia and
China, that seek to challenge American influence, values, and
wealth. We will attempt to build a great partnership with those
and other countries, but in a manner that always protects our national
interest.
As an example, yesterday I received a
call from President Putin of Russia thanking our country for the
intelligence that our CIA was able to provide them concerning a major
terrorist attack planned in St. Petersburg, where many people, perhaps
in the thousands, could have been killed. They were able to
apprehend these terrorists before the event, with no loss of
life. And that’s a great thing, and the way it’s supposed to
work. That is the way it’s supposed to work.
But while we seek such opportunities of
cooperation, we will stand up for ourselves, and we will stand up for
our country like we have never stood up before. (Applause.)
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
We know that American success is not a
forgone conclusion. It must be earned and it must be won.
Our rivals are tough, they’re tenacious, and committed to the long
term. But so are we.
To succeed, we must integrate every
dimension of our national strength, and we must compete with every
instrument of our national power.
Under the Trump administration, America
is gaining wealth, leading to enhanced power — faster than anyone
thought — with $6 trillion more in the stock market alone since the
election — $6 trillion.
With the strategy I am announcing today,
we are declaring that America is in the game and America is going to
win. (Applause.) Thank you.
Our strategy advances four vital national
interests. First, we must protect the American people, the
homeland, and our great American way of life. This strategy
recognizes that we cannot secure our nation if we do not secure our
borders. So for the first time ever, American strategy now
includes a serious plan to defend our homeland. It calls for the
construction of a wall on our southern border; ending chain migration
and the horrible visa and lottery programs; closing loopholes that
undermine enforcement; and strongly supporting our Border Patrol
agents, ICE officers, and Homeland Security personnel. (Applause.)
In addition, our strategy calls for us to
confront, discredit, and defeat radical11 Islamic terrorism12 and ideology13 and to
prevent it from spreading14 into the United States.
And we will develop new ways to counter those who use new domains, such
as cyber and social media, to attack our nation or threaten our society.
The second pillar of our strategy is to
promote American prosperity. For the first time, American
strategy recognizes that economic security is national security.
Economic vitality, growth, and prosperity at home is absolutely
necessary for American power and influence abroad. Any nation
that trades away its prosperity for security will end up losing both.
That is why this National Security
Strategy emphasizes, more than any before, the critical steps we must
take to ensure the prosperity of our nation for a long, long time to
come.
It calls for cutting taxes and rolling
back unnecessary regulations. It calls for trade based on the
principles of fairness and reciprocity. It calls for firm action
against unfair trade practices and intellectual property theft.
And it calls for new steps to protect our national security industrial
and innovation base.
The strategy proposes a complete
rebuilding of American infrastructure — our roads, bridges, airports,
waterways, and communications infrastructure. And it embraces a
future of American energy dominance and self-sufficiency.
The third pillar of our strategy is to
preserve peace through strength. (Applause.) We recognize
that weakness is the surest path to conflict, and unrivaled power is
the most certain means of defense. For this reason, our strategy
breaks from the damaging defense sequester. We’re going to get
rid of that. (Applause.)
It calls for a total modernization of our
military, and reversing previous decisions to shrink our armed forces —
even as threats to national security grew. It calls for
streamlining acquisition, eliminating bloated bureaucracy, and
massively building up our military, which has the fundamental side
benefit of creating millions and millions of jobs.
This strategy includes plans to counter
modern threats, such as cyber and electromagnetic attacks. It
recognizes space as a competitive domain and calls for multi-layered
missile defense. (Applause.) This strategy outlines
important steps to address new forms of conflict such as economic and
political aggression.
And our strategy emphasizes strengthening
alliances to cope with these threats. It recognizes that our
strength is magnified by allies who share principles — and our
principles — and shoulder their fair share of responsibility for our
common security.
Fourth and finally, our strategy is to
advance American influence in the world, but this begins with building
up our wealth and power at home.
America will lead again. We do not
seek to impose our way of life on anyone, but we will champion the
values without apology. We want strong alliances and partnerships
based on cooperation and reciprocity. We will make new
partnerships with those who share our goals, and make common interests
into a common cause. We will not allow inflexible ideology to
become an obsolete and obstacle to peace.
We will pursue the vision we have carried
around the world over this past year — a vision of strong, sovereign,
and independent nations that respect their citizens and respect their
neighbors; nations that thrive in commerce and cooperation, rooted in
their histories and branching out toward their destinies.
That is the future we wish for this
world, and that is the future we seek in America. (Applause.)
With this strategy, we are calling for a
great reawakening of America, a resurgence of confidence, and a rebirth
of patriotism, prosperity, and pride.
And we are returning to the wisdom of our
founders. In America, the people govern, the people rule, and the
people are sovereign. What we have built here in America is
precious and unique. In all of history, never before has freedom
reigned, the rule of law prevailed, and the people thrived as we have
here for nearly 250 years.
We must love and defend it. We must
guard it with vigilance and spirit, and, if necessary, like so many
before us, with our very lives. And we declare that our will is
renewed, our future is regained, and our dreams are restored.
Every American has a role to play in this
grand national effort. And today, I invite every citizen to take
their part in our vital mission. Together, our task is to
strengthen our families, to build up our communities, to serve our
citizens, and to celebrate American greatness as a shining example to
the world.
As long as we are proud — and very proud
— of who we are, how we got here, and what we are fighting for to
preserve, we will not fail.
If we do all of this, if we rediscover
our resolve and commit ourselves to compete and win again, then
together we will leave our children and our grandchildren a nation that
is stronger, better, freer, prouder, and, yes, an America that is
greater than ever before.
God Bless You. Thank you very
much. Thank you. (Applause.)
END
2:32 P.M. EST
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