The End of Eras: Donald Trump and the TPP
What the rise of the controversial candidate and the progress of the free trade deal say about the direction of the United States.
In this week’s episode of The E.R., FP’s David Rothkopf, Kori Schake, and Dan De Luce, along with New York Times national security correspondent David Sanger, take a broad look at the support the GOP’s presumptive 2016 presidential nominee, Donald Trump, is — or more accurately, isn’t — reeling in.
In this week’s episode of The E.R., FP’s David Rothkopf, Kori Schake, and Dan De Luce, along with New York Times national security correspondent David Sanger, take a broad look at the support the GOP’s presumptive 2016 presidential nominee, Donald Trump, is — or more accurately, isn’t — reeling in.
Other than his outlandish comments on immigration, terrorism, and, most recently, Brexit, Trump appears to be foundering in the foreign-policy department, garnering a minute amount of support from the Republican elite. With this in mind, the panel discusses the current state of the party of Lincoln and wonders: has the policy community of a party ever distanced itself so quickly from its own candidate? And is this political arsonist (as one of the panelists refers to Trump) a one-off phenomenon, or does Trump’s rise represent a trend gaining foothold in the GOP that could upend the entire party?
The panel also questions each party’s stance on trade policies during the current administration and past ones as well, and debates whether or not the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will actually pass. How will the next president pick up the negotiation pieces? And is it possible the trajectory of the TPP and Trump have something in common? Are we coming to the end of the era of big trade deals and possibly the end of the Republican Party as we know it?
David Sanger is the chief Washington correspondent for the New York Times and author of Confront and Conceal: Obama’s Secret Wars and Surprising Use of American Power. Follow him on Twitter: @SangerNYT.
Dan De Luce is FP’s chief national security correspondent. Follow him on Twitter: @dandeluce.
Kori Schake is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, where she focuses on military history, and a former foreign-policy advisor to Sen. John McCain. Follow her on Twitter: @KoriSchake.
David Rothkopf is the CEO and editor of the FP Group. Follow him on Twitter: @djrothkopf.
Subscribe to FP’s The E.R. and Global Thinkers podcasts on iTunes.
More from Foreign Policy

Saudi-Iranian Détente Is a Wake-Up Call for America
The peace plan is a big deal—and it’s no accident that China brokered it.

The U.S.-Israel Relationship No Longer Makes Sense
If Israel and its supporters want the country to continue receiving U.S. largesse, they will need to come up with a new narrative.

Putin Is Trapped in the Sunk-Cost Fallacy of War
Moscow is grasping for meaning in a meaningless invasion.

How China’s Saudi-Iran Deal Can Serve U.S. Interests
And why there’s less to Beijing’s diplomatic breakthrough than meets the eye.