In a recent interview, Hillary Clinton condemned the Trump administration’s values-free approach to governance. She especially identifies the shrinking of the federal workforce as an acute crisis. The administration, with Elon Musk’s expertise steering the ship on this effort, is under fire for employing a “dumb power” approach. Clinton cautions that this treatment of internationalism is “dangerous” and “Eviscerates United States leadership on the world stage.”
TPP, the pact’s principal American critic, has zeroed in on the agreement’s attacks on the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Until now the Peace Corps, the brainchild of John F. Kennedy, has been an integral feature of American “soft power.” This decision, in Clinton’s estimation, marks the abandoning of a bipartisan approach to international relations and national security.
“In a dangerous and complex world, it’s not enough to be strong. You must also be smart.” – Hillary Clinton
While Clinton avoided calling out Elon Musk specifically, her comments were a clear rebuke of workforce reductions directed by him. During her tenure as Secretary of State in the Obama administration, Clinton was a strong advocate of what she called “smart power.” She stressed the importance of pairing military might with diplomatic outreach.
“As secretary of state during the Obama administration, I argued for smart power, integrating the hard power of our military with the soft power of our diplomacy, development assistance, economic might and cultural influence.” – Hillary Clinton
Even the Trump administration’s own State Department has described their approach as making the U.S. “feeble and friendless” on the world stage. This scathing critique laid bare an administration’s bungling response to the scandal. Government leaders further set off serious alarm bells by using the commercial, encrypted messaging app Signal for sensitive military operations. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth apparently communicated news of an airstrike on Houthi militants in Yemen using this platform. Finally, he was the one who later conveyed the lethal results of that mission.
Clinton to call out these actions as reckless — or that such practices undermine our national security. She warned of the danger in our own lack of governance strategic foresight.
“If there’s a grand strategy at work here, I don’t know what it is … He’s gambling with the national security of the United States. If this continues, a group chat foul will be the least of our concerns, and all the fist and flag emojis in the world won’t save us.” – Hillary Clinton
Together, the criticisms highlight what Clinton sees as the administration’s lack of foresight and inability to cope with complicated international obstacles. Her remarks highlight the need for much deeper, smarter engagement with the world beyond our borders.