White House does not need a 'strongman,' Hickenlooper says in 2020 policy speech
Reuters
(Reuters) - Former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper on Monday said there is an authoritarian mentality in the White House and the United States does not need its own strongman, as he delivered the first major foreign policy address among two dozen Democrats vying for the 2020 presidential nomination.
I think history clearly demonstrates that when you have a so-called strongman - a dictator - you dont have rule of law, Hickenlooper said when asked at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs if that was a better approach to foreign policy than multilateralism.
In his address, Hickenlooper said China represents a generational challenge for national security; that Russia actively works against our interests by propping up Bashar Hafez al-Assad in Syria and Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela; and that North Koreas nuclear program threatens its region and beyond.
From Moscow to Beijing, from Ankara to Caracas and beyond, authoritarian strongmen now threaten not only the rights of their own people, but also the foundations of international peace, Hickenlooper said.