Former Trump aides differ on US international involvement; But Elbridge Colby and Matt Pottinger both share concerns about Taiwan

WASHINGTON – The Yomiuri Shimbun recently interviewed Elbridge Colby, a potential candidate for a key diplomatic or security post if former U.S. President Donald Trump is re-elected, as well as Matt Pottinger, who led China policy as deputy national security adviser in the former Trump administration.

The interviews, conducted separately, highlighted the differences in the two outspoken Republicans’ views on U.S. involvement in the world.

There are rumors that Colby will be appointed if Trump wins, because his thinking overlaps with Trump’s cost-conscious policies. Pottinger, meanwhile, resigned after storming Congress in 2021 and is said to keep his distance from Trump.

The following texts are taken and edited from their interviews.

Colby: China is ready to fight

The Yomiuri Shimbun: How do you see the situation in the world?

Elbridge Colby: I think the situation is exceptionally dangerous. I don’t think it is an exaggeration to use the term that Winston Churchill used, namely the ‘world crisis’. Although there is a war going on in Europe, and there are several wars going on in the Middle East, there is a chance that a war will break out, mainly targeting Taiwan, but possibly also on the Korean Peninsula at the same time. And neither the United States nor Japan, and certainly not Taiwan, are prepared for that conflict.

In the United States and Japan there is still a tendency to look at the world through an idealistic lens. But the Chinese are more powerful and I think there is a very real possibility of war breaking out.

The budget situation in the United States is very difficult. There are significant defense budget constraints, and there is war fatigue in this country. But the military build-up or focus that would be required cannot be matched.

Yomiuri: How do you analyze the Chinese military’s capabilities and possible aggression in Taiwan?

Colby: They’re building the capabilities to not only attack the island of Taiwan, but also to simultaneously confront the United States and allies like Japan. They are building up their nuclear forces. The only real reason for that would be because they think they could end up in a major war with the Americans.

How ready are Japan’s Self-Defense Forces? And how ready are the Americans for a battle among themselves? Our readiness is at an all-time low. We need conventional forces that can deny along the first island chain and then nuclear forces that can match the Chinese if they decide to escalate. The rationally best course [for unification with Taiwan from China’s perspective] is an invasion. We have to be ready now.

Yomiuri: Taiwan has spoken out about its support for Ukraine.

Colby: It exhibits an almost suicidal lack of focus on itself [situation]. Taiwan must be as well armed as possible.

The United States has limited resources. So just like a business, we have to choose a strategy.

I support Ukraine’s cause from a moral point of view. We have already given Ukraine $170 billion. We’ve given them a lot of weapons, and the situation is not going well. So my view is – President Trump also said this – “Let’s get the Europeans to step up.”

My biggest complaint with the Japanese government, besides the fact that they are not taking fast or hard enough defense action, is that Japan is going along with this focus on Ukraine. China’s long-term goal is to break Japan away from the US alliance and force the country to become a kind of tributary state in a modern context.

Yomiuri: How do your ideas differ from ‘America first’ and ‘isolationism’?

Colby: My position is very much in line with what I now understand as “America first.” My proposed policy is the policy that puts Americans first. And it’s not isolationism. If you want to achieve peace, you must be willing to go to war.

(The interview took place on May 30 in Washington.)

Pottinger: Avoid isolationism

The Yomiuri Shimbun: What do you think of the current situation in the Taiwan Strait, especially after China conducted large-scale military exercises in May?

Matt Pottinger: The point that the Chinese military, and its paramilitary forces such as the Coast Guard, are trying to demonstrate is that they have the ability to suffocate Taiwan at will and, in the words of one mainland Chinese commentator, To kill. Island. The threat to the status quo in the Taiwan Strait actually comes from Beijing.

Yomiuri: If former President Donald Trump wins this year’s election, would his administration outperform the administration of current President Joe Biden?

Pottinger: No new wars took place under President Trump’s watch. What we need to do is make sure that the Republican Party doesn’t turn inward and start shifting toward a more isolationist set of instincts.

[Isolationism in the 1930s led to] lessons written in blood in the 20th century. Keep them in mind, keep them in our hearts, and maintain an internationalist Republican foreign policy of peacekeeping, recognizing that if the United States does not lead the way, there will be no other democracy to do it for us. It will eventually become totalitarian dictatorships that take control of the world.

Yomiuri: If you were asked to join the second Trump administration, would you accept the offer?

Pottinger: We are now in a period of global crisis, and I am always at the service of any elected President of the United States, whoever he or she may be.

(The interview took place online on May 28.)