America First? Explaining Continuity and Change in Trump's Foreign Policy

On 16 June 2015, real estate mogul and reality television star Donald Trump announced that he would seek the Republican nomination for president. In a lengthy speech introducing his candidacy, Trump touched on a number of foreign policy topics, many of which would become centerpieces of his campaign. "Our country is in serious trouble," he observed, "we done have victories anymore." Pointing to economic competition from China and Japan, Trump promised to "bring back our jobs, and I'll bring back our money." Citing the growing influence of the Islamic State of Iraq and al Sham (ISIS) and Iran in the Middle East, he declared, "I want to have the strongest military that we've ever had ... nobody would be tougher on ISIS than Donald Trump." Perhaps most famously, Trump pledged to tighten restrictions on illegal immigration. "When do we beat Mexico at the border?," he asked, adding, " I will build a great, great wall on our southern border."