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America First denotes a set of policies in theUnited States that emphasize takingforeign policy anddomestic policy decisions which serve the interests of the United States before the interests of all other nations and peoples. This typically manifests itself in policies ofnon-interventionism,American nationalism, andprotectionist trade policy.[1]
The term was promoted by PresidentWoodrow Wilson[2] in his 1916 presidential campaign that pledged to keep America neutral inWorld War I. A more non-interventionist approach gained prominence in theinterwar period (1918–1939); it was also advocated by theAmerica First Committee, a non-interventionist pressure group against U.S. entry intoWorld War II.[3]
A century later, PresidentDonald Trump used the slogan in his2016 presidential campaign and presidency (2017–2021,2025–present), emphasizing the U.S.'s withdrawal from international treaties and organizations inthe administration's foreign policy.[4][5][6] Some media critics have derided Trump's use of the America First policy as "America Alone".[7][8][9]
As a slogan in American political discourse, "America First" originated from thenativistAmerican Party in the 1850s.[10] The motto has been used by bothDemocratic andRepublican politicians in the United States. At the outbreak ofWorld War I, PresidentWoodrow Wilson used the slogan to define his version of neutrality, as did newspaper publisherWilliam Randolph Hearst.[11] The motto was also chosen by Republican SenatorWarren G. Harding during the1920 presidential election, which he won.[12]
TheKu Klux Klan (KKK) used the phrase at the organization's peak in the 1920s, when racist,xenophobic sentiment was widespread;[13][14] it informed many of their members who ran for political office.[15] TheImmigration Act of 1924, sponsored byWashington U.S. representativeAlbert Johnson, was a legislative expression of xenophobia. It targeted Japanese, eastern and southern European immigrants by excluding them on the basis of ethnicity and national origin in an effort to preserve the country’s existing ethnic demographics.[16] Johnson's leading role in the immigration restriction bill elicited strong support from the KKK.[17]
America First is best known as the slogan and foreign policy advocated by theAmerica First Committee, a non-interventionist pressure groupagainst the American entry intoWorld War II, which emphasizedAmerican nationalism and unilateralism in international relations. The America First Committee's membership peaked at 800,000 paying members in 450 chapters, and it popularized the slogan "America First".[3] While the America First Committee had a variety of supporters in the U.S., the movement was muddled withanti-Semitic andfascist rhetoric.[18] Notable Americans who supported "America First" causes includeElizabeth Dilling,Gerald L. K. Smith,[19][20] andCharles Lindbergh,[21] whileDr. Seuss derided the policy in a number ofpolitical cartoons, linking it toNazism.[22]
In later periods, the slogan was used byPat Buchanan, who praised the non-interventionist WWII America First Committee and said "the achievements of that organization are monumental."[23] Buchanan's "call for an America First foreign policy has been compared with the America First Committee."[24]
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Donald Trump, who had run against Pat Buchanan in the2000 Reform Party presidential primaries, first revived the slogan in a November 2015op-ed inThe Wall Street Journal.[25] In its early going, the Trump campaign publicized an article byJeff Kuhner on theWorld Tribune praising the candidate as a "nationalist who seeks to put America first";[26] campaign managerCorey Lewandowski (who later published a book with the title)[27] promoted Trump with the phrase;[28][29] and bothSarah Palin[30] andChris Christie[31] featured it in their endorsements of Trump. Trump later incorporated the slogan into his daily repertoire following a suggestion byDavid E. Sanger during an interview withThe New York Times in March 2016, borrowing it from an article that appeared earlier in the month in USA Today[32] and written by U.S. diplomatArmand Cucciniello.[33][34] In subsequent months, without referencing Pat Buchanan's prior usage or theAmerica First Committee, candidate Trump promised that "'America First' would be the major and overriding theme" of his administration, and advocated nationalist, anti-interventionist positions.[35][34]
Followinghis election to the presidency, "America First" became the officialforeign policy doctrine of theTrump administration.[36] It was a theme ofTrump's inaugural address, and aPolitico/Morning Consult poll released on January 25, 2017, stated that 65% of Americans responded positively to President Trump's "America First" inaugural message, with 39% viewing the speech as poor.[37]
Trump embraced Americanunilateralism abroad and introduced policies aimed at undermining transnational organizations such as theEuropean Union -- often deriding them on economic terms[38][39][40][41] -- while acting or threatening to withdraw or reduce U.S. support and participation in others, includingNATO[42][40][39][41] and theUnited Nations[43][44][45][46]
Pursuing his nationalist but non-interventionist "America First" agenda, Trump withdrew (or threatened to withdraw) the United States from numerous international treaties and agreements, including theIntermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF),North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA),Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP),Paris Climate Accords, and theIran nuclear deal (JCPOA)[46][44][43][47][45]
In 2017, the administration proposed afederal budget for 2018 with both "Make America Great Again" and "America First" in its title, with the latter referencing its increases to military, homeland security, and veteran spending, cuts to spending that goes towards foreign countries, and 10-year objective of achieving abalanced budget.[48]
The administration branded its 2017National Security Strategy of the U.S. as "an America First National Security Strategy". The introduction to that document reads "This National Security Strategy puts America first. An America First National Security Strategy is based on American principles, a clear-eyed assessment of U.S. interests, and a determination to tackle the challenges that we face. It is a strategy of principled realism that is guided by outcomes, not ideology."[49]
Trump's use of the slogan was criticized by some for carrying comparisons to the America First Committee;[50] however, Trump denied being an isolationist, and said:
Not isolationist, I’m not isolationist, but I am ‘America First.’ So I like the expression. I’m ‘America First.’[51]
A number of scholars (such asDeborah Dash Moore), commentators (such asBill Kristol) and Jewish organizations (including theAnti-Defamation League andJewish Council for Public Affairs) criticized Trump's use of the slogan because of its historical association withnativism and antisemitism.[51][52] Others have argued that Trump was never a non-interventionist.[53] Columnist Daniel Larison fromThe American Conservative wrote that "Trump was quick to denounce previous wars as disasters, but his complaint about these wars was that the U.S. wasn't 'getting' anything tangible from them. He didn't see anything wrong in attacking other countries, but lamented that the U.S. didn't 'take' their resources" and that "he never called for an end to the wars that were still ongoing, but talked only about 'winning' them."[54]
Trump's "America First" policy has been described as a major factor in the perceived increase in the international non-interventionism of the U.S. in the late 2010s, and various media critics such asThe New Yorker have described the policy as "America Alone".[7][8][9]
In mid-2016, while running for a Louisiana Senate seat,David Duke, former Grand Wizard of the KKK, publicly claimed that he was "the first major candidate in modern times to promote the term and policy of America first"[55] (although was preceded by Donald Trump).[25][33][34]
Trump's successor as U.S. president,Joe Biden, discontinued many of Trump'sCOVID-19-related "America First" policies at the beginning of his presidency, but he initially kept the Trump administration'sCOVID-19 vaccine export ban in place.[56] As of May 2021, the U.S. had started exporting vaccines out of its borders.[57] TheU.S. House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack describedfar-right political commentatorNick Fuentes and formerIdentity Evropa leader Patrick Carey as leaders of the "America First" movement in asubpoena issued in January 2022.[58]
Following Trump's inauguration, the policy and its phrasing became a subject of international satire through theEvery Second Counts video contest inspired by Dutch comedianArjen Lubach.News satire television programs initially throughout Europe, and later from around the world, comically appealed to Trump to acknowledge their own countries in light of Trump's nationalist slogan, with a narrator mimicking Trump's voice, speech patterns, and exaggerated speaking style.[59][60] Lubach's initial version, for example, ended by noting that "We totally understand it's going to be America first, but can we just say: The Netherlands second?".[61][62]
InSpike Lee's filmBlacKkKlansman (2018), David Duke andwhite supremacists are portrayed as repeatedly using the "America First" slogan.[63]
Several prominent U.S. officials from both political parties have criticized aspects of the “America First” approach. Former Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton and Mike Pompeo both described the Pentagon’s “America First” reset as a “disaster,” warning that it could put the United States at a competitive disadvantage against countries like China and Russia.[64] Clinton also argued that focusing U.S. attention solely on the Western Hemisphere might embolden adversaries abroad, while Pompeo agreed, emphasizing that the U.S. should maintain its global influence.[64]
This debate highlights a clear divide in U.S. politics. Supporters of the slogan argue that putting national interests first is essential to protect the country at home. Critics contend that an “America Alone” approach could isolate the United States and weaken the international partnerships and alliances that have sustained its global influence.[65]
Analysts and policy commentators have identified several challenges associated with the doctrine. These include reduced U.S. credibility in international institutions and reduced influence in coalition diplomacy. Some observers have also noted tensions within the America First movement, as some supporters feel the administration’s words do not always align with its actions on immigration, trade, and economic policies. Together, these critiques highlight a tension between prioritizing national interests alone and maintaining the cooperative frameworks essential for U.S. leadership abroad.[66][65]
While the America First Committee attracted a wide array of support, the movement was marred by anti-Semitic and pro-fascist rhetoric.
Seeking to brand itself as a mainstream organization, America First struggled with the problem of the anti-Semitism of some of its leaders and many of its members.
The America First Committee and Norman Thomas's group tried to maintain their distance from anti-Semites and fascists, but the lunatic fringe of countersubversives was drawn irresistibly to them, wild for the possibility of become part of a powerful mainstream political movement.Gerald L. K. Smith,Elizabeth Dilling,Gerald B. Winrod,William Dudley Pelley,Charles Coughlin,Laura Ingalls, and all of the country's other notorious anti-Semitic anticommunist crackpots joyously raised the temperature of the debate by attacking defense preparations as Jewish inspired and Communist directed.
The American people need an administration that will tell them the truth and a president who will put America first. That's what I intend to do.
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