World leaders view President Donald Trump as credible and welcome his approach, while only the American left sees an "America First" philosophy as controversial, Richard Grenell, the president's envoy for special missions, told Newsmax at CPAC Paraguay on Friday.
"Look, I've said this before and I think it's worth repeating, that it's only in the American political system on the left that putting America first is controversial," Grenell told Newsmax's Jason Mattera. "There's only one area where it's controversial, and that is with the left. But why is that? I think that they don't travel enough."
But around the world, "when you come here to Paraguay, you go to the Balkans, you go to Europe or the Middle East, every country puts itself first," said Grenell, president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. "There is no controversy about America putting itself first anywhere except the political left in America."
Grenell also said foreign leaders welcome Trump's straightforward style, even when they disagree with him.
"I talk to world leaders all the time," he said. "I've got a lot of friends who are world leaders, and they're excited to have a credible U.S. president."
Grenell added that while "they don't always agree with President Trump on everything, they know he's credible."
"They know when he says something, he means it," said Grenell. "He's quick to adjust if it's failing, and he talks to everyone. They love it because they got a shot, right? They got a chance to come in and represent their countries."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.