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Critics once called it separatist. But national security experts now say Donald Trump’s “America First” strategy is proving to be something else entirely – a policy of hardline deterrence built on strong alliances, particularly with Israel.
Fred Flitz, vice president of the America First Policy Institute’s Center on American Security and former chief of staff of the National Security Council, told Fox News Digital that “An America First approach to America’s national security means a strong national security policy, a decisive president, keeping our country out of unnecessary wars, coalition members pulling their weight, but it also means standing firmly with Israel and fighting anti-Semitism.”
He said supporting Israel is not about sentiment. “It is in our strategic interest to stand with Israel,” he said. “Israel is dealing with enemies in the region that the US would have to deal with if it weren’t there. So it’s in our strategic interest.”
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President Donald Trump speaks at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, in Jerusalem on October 13, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool/Getty Images)
Israel as America’s forward defense
Mike Makovsky, CEO of the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA), said Israel effectively absorbs threats that would otherwise demand US military action. “Historically, there are about three reasons why we have an interest in this area,” he said. “One is Israel. The other is oil. And three are Islamic extremism – terrorism, Shia and Sunni.”
Makovsky said it is ironic that the America First debate has reemerged “just months after Israel defeated America’s Mideast enemies.” He pointed to Iran’s nuclear progress and the role of its proxies. “They are building ballistic missiles… they can reach the eastern seaboard of the United States,” he said. “You marry nuclear missiles that can hit the US – you have the North Koreans on the West Coast; do you really want an Iran that can hit the East Coast?”
According to Makovsky, Israel’s campaign against those threats shows the strategic value of the alliance. He said, “What did the Israelis do? They took care of it. The United States came up last with the B-2… but it was Israel that did all that work.”
He said Israel has “largely eliminated Hamas,” weakened Hezbollah – “which has the blood of hundreds of American soldiers on its hands” – and continues to confront the Houthis “to ensure freedom of navigation.” He argued that this hindered action: “As long as we support Israel, we give them some help, we give them the weapons they need, they’re really doing our job.”
Countering Iran and its allies
Flitz called Iran “the biggest threat”, which “includes Iran and Iran’s proxies in the region. This includes Hamas, Hezbollah in Syria, Iran-backed militias in Iraq, and then Iran, with its nuclear weapons program and sponsorship of terror.”
He said Israel’s actions have “destroyed Hamas proxies and significantly weakened Iran,” adding that “we joined Israel in June in taking on Iran’s nuclear program, which was a threat to global security.”
Both analysts framed Iran as part of a broader axis of power with Russia and China, each exploiting Middle East instability to reduce American influence — by fueling proxy wars, driving up energy prices and threatening trade routes through the Gulf and the Red Sea. Flitz said Trump’s willingness to take decisive action “to attack Iran’s nuclear program is an example of using force to prevent costly wars later on.”
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Fire and smoke rise into the sky after an Israeli attack on the Shahran oil depot in Tehran, Iran on June 15, 2025. Iran’s foreign minister said the country would respond “decisively and proportionately” to the wave of attacks launched by Israel in the early hours of June 13. The attacks targeted several military, scientific and residential locations as well as senior government officials. (Stringer/Getty Images)
Energy and Economic Security
Both agree that energy policy is where America First becomes measurable. Flitz said that “Energy independence is a very important part of President Trump’s America First policy to free Americans from high energy bills.” At the same time, he said, energy diplomacy abroad strengthens economic security at home. He said, “By putting pressure on the Saudis – and the Saudis, I think, are happy to help us with this – to produce more oil, it could really help us end the war in Ukraine.”
Makovsky made a similar case for regional stability: “The biggest threat to Gulf Arab oil exporters is Iran,” he said. Without Israel’s control over Tehran, “Iran probably would have taken over the Middle East. And if you care about oil prices, that’s not very good.”
Both experts said the Americans save in both dollars and deployments when Israel bears the burden of defending energy corridors and trade routes.
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President Donald Trump poses for a photo with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before boarding Air Force One at Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, while Israel’s President Isaac Herzog looks on at left. (Ivan Vucci/AP Photo)
avoid unnecessary wars
Flitz said Trump’s doctrine is about selective force, not retreat. He said, “He wants to keep our country out of new and unnecessary wars, but he will use military force judiciously to protect our national security.” “He will avoid sending US troops and using military force in certain situations. But that does not mean he will not do these things when it is in US strategic interests.”
He pointed to U.S. personnel who are currently deployed in Israel but “they are not going to Gaza” and “will not be involved in combat operations against Hamas.” Their mission fits the model of minimum footprint, maximum leverage, he said.
Reliability and global resistance
Makovsky warned that abandoning Israel would undermine America’s credibility around the world. He recalled what a senior Arab leader once told him: “If the United States does not help Israel attack Iran’s nuclear facilities, it will be one of the great catastrophes.”
“That’s because everyone in the Middle East, everyone in Asia knows that the U.S.-Israel relationship is one of the closest relationships in the world,” Makovsky said. “If we don’t help Israel, it undermines our credibility. The Chinese, the Russians and the North Koreans know that if we don’t support Israel, we won’t help other allies… and that will make us more vulnerable to the Chinese, without a doubt.”
Iranian worshipers chant anti-US and anti-Israel slogans during an anti-Israel rally to condemn Israeli attacks on Iran after Friday prayers in Tehran, Iran, June 20, 2025, as one of them holds a portrait of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. (Photo by Morteza Nicoubazal/Nurfoto via Getty Images)
peace through strength
Flitz said Trump’s “20-point peace plan” for Gaza exemplifies the America First balance between toughness and diplomacy. “It achieved its two primary objectives, to get all the surviving hostages out of Israel and to enforce the ceasefire,” he said, acknowledging that “the ceasefire is quite unstable.” The next step, he said, is “an international stabilization force” – a complex process still under negotiation.
Smoke rises after an explosion in Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 13, 2025. Israel attacked Iran’s capital early Friday, causing explosions across Tehran. (Getty)
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For both experts, the conclusion is the same: America First does not mean isolation. This means a strategic partnership that keeps American troops out of protracted wars while maintaining American dominance.
