on the united states as the guarantor for their nation s security, kind of that that helps shape their foreign policy. and i thought i was going to have a conversation about foreign policy and all they wanted to talk about was charlottesville, virginia the rally where people were marching in the streets, chanting, jews will not replace us with torches, and they were asking question after question about this. and what i realised it is, look, i m sure thatjapan didn t agree with all elements of american foreign policy over the years, and things like the iraq war were incredibly destructive and destabilising, but what trumpism got at and i don t think it began with trump, and that s another key part of this book is that people are looking at the united states and it s fundamentally no longer looking like a stable democracy. that s more dangerous than getting something wrong on a foreign policy perspective. that s questioning can we trust these guys, given the enormous weight of re
the case that a bunch of people are living in an information ecosystem in my country, it s notjust fox news. it s online, it s talk radio, and it is very radical. qanon, the conspiracy theory that says a cabal of child sex traffickers is running the world government. it s bigger than some religions. and we shouldn t ignore that. that s a big problem in our society has to deal with overtime. i believe putting forward the belief america should be a multiracial, multiethnic democracy where people from all over the world can share an international identity. that s fundamental. i m not willing to compromise on that. we are out of time, but it s going to need a really short answer. is america fixable? can it be the america you always dreamed it could be? yes, because america has always been a contest
and the reality, though, is that i still feel a lot of unease we are not out of the woods at all. if you look at this country and around the world, that the threats to things i care about, including democracy itself. here every day, we see the continued illiberalism of the republican party kind of try to eat away at american democracy from within. and without, you obviously see the continued, really aggressive challenge to global norms and global democracies from vladimir putin and the alternative model of governing in society, really, being put forward from china. so, i still have unease, even if i m in a better mood than i was before the election. right. as you say, challenges within and without. i want to start outside the united states and then move in, if i may. you were national security adviser deputy national security adviser for eight years. you got a very long, hard look at the way the world works during that time.
the idea of the desire to make profit within the chinese market and economy? the idea of prioritising national security issues? and the idea of technological innovation. clearly outweighed as a priority any concern for democracy and human rights. the united states has gone to the mat of the purchase of american soybeans from china more than we have undemocratic issues. so, i do think that the united states and like minded congress around the world, democracies, need to be prioritising issues like what s happening to the uighurs at a much greater level, and i think biden has moved things in that direction. just a quick word. as we re discussing the authoritarian strain around the world, we might have to have a quick word about russia and vladimir putin. you were in the room for a number of meetings between obama and putin. we saw donald trump try to take a different tactic. he very rarely criticised
i m trying to speak more honestly and openly in ways i think its past time we do. how can the us lecture people about democracy when some of our most high profile allies here are clearly anything but? very interesting point. so, now, before he end, let s quickly talk about what you call the home front. that is, the politics inside the united states of america. if america is to be credible as the ultimate defender of freedom and democracy around the world, it has to be seen to uphold those principles at home. one problem you have is that donald trump did actually win the election in 2016. we don t know what can happen in 2022 in the mid terms, and 202a. it s possible the republicans may be led by donald trump and win again. many millions, tens of millions of americans, legitimately support donald trump. in your book, you portray them all as frankly, brainwashed by fox news and alt right social media. why do you cannot find it