Overview of What’s the Left’s Vision for Foreign Policy After Trump?
This New York Times Opinion episode explores how the Democratic Party’s left flank is rethinking U.S. foreign policy in the aftermath of Trump, the Gaza war, and broader disillusionment with the Biden-era approach. Ezra Klein interviews Matt Duss, a leading progressive foreign policy voice, about whether Gaza will force a Democratic “reckoning,” what a values-based foreign policy would actually mean, and how foreign policy can be rebuilt around the working class, anti-corruption, and real constraints on executive power.
Gaza as the Democratic Party’s Foreign Policy Rupture
Duss argues that Gaza is becoming a defining internal crisis for Democrats, much like Iraq reshaped the party after the Iraq War.
Core argument
- The Biden administration’s Gaza policy was not just a policy failure, but also a failure of truth-telling.
- Duss says the White House and State Department repeatedly denied or minimized what was plainly visible to the rest of the world, including human rights groups and Palestinians on the ground.
- He believes some senior officials from the Biden era should not return to government.
Political impact
- Gaza is already influencing Democratic primaries and intra-party debates.
- The episode highlights examples like:
- Brian Schatz calling for a new generation of foreign policy staffers
- Chris Van Hollen arguing Democrats need moral and strategic clarity on Israel-Palestine
- Primary fights in Michigan, New Jersey, and New York where Gaza and Israel policy have become litmus tests
What a Left Foreign Policy Would Change
Duss says a progressive foreign policy would begin with the premise that U.S. foreign policy should make Americans safer and more prosperous, while causing less harm abroad.
On Israel and Palestine
- End U.S. aid to Israel, since Israel is wealthy and does not need American subsidies.
- Enforce existing U.S. laws on arms sales and human rights, including the Leahy Laws and Arms Export Control Act.
- Impose real consequences on settlement expansion and officials who facilitate annexation.
- Shift away from policies that, in his view, have empowered the strongest and worst actors:
- Israeli far-right forces
- weak or corrupt Palestinian leadership
- extremists who see violence as the only path forward
On Gaza specifically
- He argues Gaza must be governed by Palestinians if it is to be stabilized and rebuilt.
- He says Hamas cannot simply be wished away and that any durable solution would require some tacit accommodation with the reality that Hamas remains a force.
- In his view, disarmament is impossible under occupation and only conceivable with legitimate Palestinian self-governance.
Reassessing U.S. Power, “Rules,” and the War Powers Debate
A major theme is whether Democrats should try to restore a “rules-based order” or move beyond the old U.S.-led system altogether.
Duss’s view
- He is skeptical of American “primacy” as a goal.
- He sees the post–Cold War foreign policy establishment as having overvalued U.S. dominance and underweighted accountability.
- He supports stronger congressional control over war powers and military action.
- He believes one reason Trump and other anti-establishment figures resonate is that Americans sense the system is rigged and unaccountable.
The tension discussed
- Klein pushes on the idea that rules can restrain bad decisions, but they can also slow or block action.
- Duss agrees that restraint is the point: rules matter because leaders are not always wise.
- He says Congress should reclaim its constitutional role in war-making, not just on procedural grounds, but because many military actions are simply bad ideas.
Foreign Policy for the Working Class
The conversation repeatedly returns to the idea that foreign policy is not separate from domestic life.
Main themes
- Americans are suspicious of global military commitments because they feel like they benefit elites and cost working people.
- Duss sees the Iraq War, Afghanistan, and repeated foreign interventions as part of a broader legitimacy crisis.
- He says Democrats need a foreign policy that clearly answers:
- How does this help working families?
- Why is this worth the cost?
- Who benefits from the current system?
Trade and China
- Duss rejects framing China policy as a pure contest for U.S. dominance.
- He argues the U.S. must coexist with China and look for cooperation where possible.
- He criticizes the Biden administration for treating trade policy too much as a weapon in strategic competition.
- He says a better approach would include ideas like:
- a global minimum corporate tax
- possibly a global minimum wage
- trade arrangements that strengthen workers rather than just corporate power
Immigration, Anti-Corruption, and Domestic Legitimacy
Duss also ties foreign policy to immigration and corruption.
Immigration
- He supports a legal, orderly immigration system.
- He emphasizes that the U.S. is a nation of immigrants and that immigration helps economic growth.
- At the same time, he acknowledges the political demand for control and order at the border.
Anti-corruption
- He argues that elite impunity is central to America’s political crisis.
- Foreign policy should include crackdowns on kleptocracy, money laundering, and corrupt financial havens.
- He points to campaign finance reform as a domestic version of the same fight against elite capture.
Closing Takeaways
- Gaza is emerging as a moral and political test for Democrats, especially younger and more progressive ones.
- Duss wants a foreign policy that is:
- more restrained
- more legalistic
- more accountable to Congress
- less deferential to military and diplomatic elites
- more explicitly tied to working-class interests
- He does not argue for isolationism. Instead, he wants the U.S. to do less harm, support self-government, and use its power more carefully.
- The episode’s broader message is that Democrats need not just a new set of policies, but a new theory of what American power is for.