American Prestige E338 - Trump’s National Security Strategy w/ Julia Gledhill and Van Jackson
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Dec 16, 2025 
Join Van Jackson, a foreign policy commentator, and Julia Gledhill, a national security researcher, as they dissect the Trump administration’s National Security Strategy. They highlight the document's shift towards a civilizational narrative and its implications for U.S. diplomacy, notably the neglect of democratic values. Jackson critiques its mixed signals on China while Gledhill exposes contradictions between rhetorical goals and military strategies, raising concerns about an imperial tone and increased military presence in Latin America.
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NSS Targets The National Security State
- National security strategies primarily signal priorities to the national security bureaucracy rather than the public.
- Van Jackson says the NSS aims to impose coherence on many agencies by defining the president's political project.
Contradictory Claims On Primacy
- The new NSS rhetorically rejects U.S. primacy while still insisting on military superiority and global domination.
- Van Jackson notes the document contradicts itself by downplaying China yet repeating calls for imbalance of power.
Democracy Takes A Back Seat
- Democracy promotion largely disappears from the NSS compared with past strategies.
- Daniel Bessner argues this marks a shift toward power politics and interests over ideological grand strategy.