Ryan Blasts Obama on Foreign Policy — and Hints at Disagreements With Trump, Too

House Speaker Paul Ryan advertised his national security address on Thursday as a rebuttal to the policies of President Barack Obama. But the 23-page document he unveiled at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington gained more attention for its implicit breaks with presumptive Republican Party nominee Donald Trump.

The policy paper Ryan released alongside House Republican leaders  forcefully argued that the U.S. should maintain a “strong NATO presence in Europe,” a notion that Trump has lampooned given his view that European allies do not pay their fair share for U.S. protection. It also expressed support for free trade deals as the best way of spreading “global freedom” and blasted Russian President Vladimir Putin as a man consumed with “burgeoning militarism. Trump has repeatedly excoriated free trade deals, such as NAFTA and the pending Trans-Pacific Partnership, and said he would give Putin an “A” for leadership and strength.

On immigration, the paper calls for beefed up border control involving aerial surveillance, more agents, and radar to detect illicit items or individuals passing into the United States. It proposes tighter visa security measures and the monitoring of social media profiles to guard against would-be terrorists. Notably, it does not call for the construction of a “wall,” and says “we need more than just fencing.”

The tension at play is the latest example of Republican leaders attempting to put a leash on Trump as his heterodox policies, vulgarities, and racial incitement pose a growing threat to the party’s chances at taking the White House and retaining control of the Senate. It also comes as Democratic leaders have had difficulties controlling their own populist firebrand, Bernie Sanders, who has refused to suspend his campaign despite the fact that Hillary Clinton has won enough delegates to secure her party’s nomination. Obama formally endorsed her on Thursday.

During Ryan’s short address at the Washington think tank, he condemned Obama’s foreign policy for, in his view, failing to enforce the “red line” in Syria, not doing enough to combat the Islamic State, and responding to Russian aggression in a manner that is “timid at best.” While his paper proposes more expansive military spending, it does not say where the money will come from and is in general light on specifics and heavy on rhetoric.

“What I am saying is, we need a confident America,” he said in his speech. “That is what will keep the peace — and keep us safe.”

After he concluded, a handful of senior House Republicans fielded questions, including Rep. Michael McCaul, the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Mac Thornberry, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, and Rep. Bob Goodlatte, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. The men were each questioned pointedly on how they could support Trump while disagreeing with many of his proposals, including temporarily banning the world’s 1.5 billion Muslims from entering the United States and torturing terror suspects.

Ignoring the national security questions, Goodlatte said he was “very encouraged” by the list of conservative Supreme Court nominees Trump recently released and said he was pleased that Trump indicated a desire to nominate a vice president with legislative experience.

When asked about Trump’s support for waterboarding and even more harsh enhanced interrogation tactics, Thornberry said he would advise the next commander-in-chief to “abide by the law.”

“I do not believe the military will carry out any order that goes contrary to the law,” he said. But he also repeated a popular Trump line, saying he believed the U.S. should be more unpredictable and refrain from publicly ruling out any techniques. “I’m for leaving ‘em guessing,” he said.

In breaking with Trump, McCaul said “you can’t ban an entire race or religion from coming into the country.” Speaking of Ryan’s foreign policy paper, he said “This is a document we hope the nominee will read.”

Meanwhile, at the White House, after a roughly hour-long meeting with the Obama, Sanders vowed to do “everything in my power” to beat Trump — including teaming up with Clinton. Sanders blasted Republican leaders like Ryan for saying they oppose Trump’s disparaging statements toward minorities — including his public smear campaign against a federal judge of Mexican-American descent — but maintaining their pledge to support their nominal leader.

He called it “unbelievable” that the GOP would nominate Trump, “who in the year 2016 makes bigotry and discrimination the cornerstone of his campaign.”

“Donald Trump would clearly, to my mind and I think the majority of Americans, be a disaster as president of the United States,” he said.

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