I am pleased to welcome back into the virtual studio, Thomas Wright. After serving in the Biden National Security Council for a number of years, Tom has returned – to civilian life – at the Brookings Institution in Washington. I wanted to begin to explore with Tom his assessment of where US foreign policy is now that Donald Trump has begun in such a flurry the second presidential term. I am particularly interested in discussing Trump’s efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict with Tom. Where is this effort likely to end? And what relationship does Trump want with Putin’s Russia?
Currently Tom is a senior fellow with the Strobe Talbott for Security, Strategy and Technology at the Brookings Institution. Tom most recently served as special assistant to the president and senior director for strategic planning at the National Security Council in the Biden administration. Before Tom left for the Biden administration, Tom had been very active writing on contemporary politics and in particular the impact of President Trump on US foreign policy, Trump 1.0. Tom continues his writing and just recently published the Foreign Affairs article titled, “The Right U.S. Strategy for Russia-Ukraine Negotiations: How American Pressure Can Bring the War to an Acceptable End”.