Not since the 1930s has isolationist sentiment gained such prominence in the U.S.
Trump and his Republican allies are fueling a new isolationist strain in American politics that could radically alter America’s approach to the world — with unpredictable consequences.
In 1940, as Hitler’s troops rolled across Europe, a growing chorus of Republicans argued against sending American weapons to Britain.
The U.S., they said, would be wasting resources sending help to London and instead Washington should put “America First.”
Now, former President Donald Trump and his allies in Congress use the same slogan to make similar arguments against sending military aid to another democratic country in Europe under assault by a powerful authoritarian regime.
Donald Trump chats with Vladimir Putin at the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Danang, Vietnam, on Nov. 11, 2017. Mikhail Klimentyev / AFP via Getty Images“The American people deserve to know what their money has gone to. How is the counteroffensive going? Are the Ukrainians any closer to victory than they were 6 months ago?” more than two dozen Republican lawmakers wrote in a letter this month, declaring their opposition to additional U.S. military aid to Ukraine.
Not since the years before America entered World War II, when Ohio Sen. Robert Taft and others warned against giving a “blank check” to Britain, has isolationist sentiment gained so much traction in the U.S.
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