Trump campaigned on ‘bringing people to the negotiation table’, says former Rubio chief of staff

We speak to Matt Terrill, who was chief of staff for Marco Rubio’s campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.

Senator Rubio is tipped by some to become President Trump’s foreign policy chief as Secretary of State.

Cathy Newman: While the world awaits news from Mar-a-Lago about what Trump’s second administration might look like, what do you expect?

Matt Terrill: I would expect that he will deliver on the items that he campaigned on as president, putting the big issues that voters voted on, namely on the economy, inflation and border security. I think you’re going to see him push forward on where he left off on many policies during his first term, such as, for example, picking up on the 2017 tax cuts that he implemented. Those are coming up for renewal. Restoring Title 42, remain in Mexico policy. Those are the things that he just talked about on the campaign trail. If you look at why he won this race, look at all the issues that voters cared about, namely the economy, inflation and border security. I would expect him to start off with those issues day one of his administration.

Cathy Newman: Obviously, all the big domestic issues, as you’d expect. But is there a chance that all these overseas conflicts that we’ve been talking about so far in the programme might blow him off course from all that?

Matt Terrill: There’s certainly no question that he’s going to have to address the conflict with Ukraine and Russia, Middle East policy, and as he talked about on the campaign trail, look, he has no intentions of starting any new wars. That’s a big theme that he campaigned on, championed throughout the campaign. So I think we’re at the kind of wait and see here in terms of exactly what he will do. But the biggest thing he leaned into was bringing people to the negotiation table. And I think a lot of Americans will look at that and say, ‘well, he did that with North Korea in his first term. He met with the North Korean leader, was working to bring people to the negotiation table’. I think as we look to Ukraine and Russia, in particular, the Middle East in particular, I think we’re at the wait and see how that all takes shape. But certainly that came up during the campaign. Americans want to see peace, prosperity, not just at home, but abroad. And you can expect them to take on those issues, I think certainly day one as well.

Cathy Newman: He’s talked about ending the war in Ukraine in 24 hours. Doesn’t that really mean surrendering to Putin, effectively?

Matt Terrill: No, I think what you’re going to have to see here is what he does. And I think right now we’re at the, just wait and see, frankly, what he does once he’s actually in office. But I think right now, you’re looking to see him focusing on putting together his foreign policy team, not just his domestic team. You saw him move forward with announcing his chief of staff. So at this stage right now it’s getting the right people in place. The president certainly matters, but having a great team, not just for your domestic policy, but a great team that can advance your foreign policy, that’s going to matter as well. The biggest thing that he talked about was bringing people to the negotiation table. I think we just have to wait and see what he does, with respect, once he’s sworn in.

Cathy Newman: So your old boss, Marco Rubio, likely to be secretary of state? Do you think that would be a good hire?

Matt Terrill: We’ll see what happens. Certainly, Senator Rubio is a very talented individual. There’s a lot of talented individuals who’ve been mentioned for various positions within the administration. I think right now you’re going to see an ‘and not or’ approach by President-elect Trump and his team bringing people in who maybe served in the first term and adding new people to his administration who never served in the first term. Some folks from government, Capitol Hill potentially, but also I think a lot of individuals from the private sector as well. I think you’ll see a diverse group of individuals brought to the table here, brought into the administration. So his decision on whether or not he announces Senator Rubio, or anybody else, to positions, but certainly Senator Rubio is a very talented individual. We’ll see what he does across the board on various roles.

Cathy Newman: We talked about Ukraine. There’s horrific images coming out of Gaza overnight, as well. Some worry that Trump will really give Israel a blank cheque in the Middle East, do you think that is a concern?

Matt Terrill: I hate to be redundant here. I honestly think we’re at the wait and see. I say that because there’s not a whole lot of details yet with respect to what will be done there. What President-elect Trump has championed is wanting to end wars, not starting  new wars. And again, I go back to really lean into the negotiation table here. He has made a promise to the American people on these issues. The big things are to deliver on them. So I just think right now we will get more clarity once he’s sworn in. Again, not to be repetitive here. I do think the biggest thing right now is getting the right people in place to help him advance his foreign policy agenda.

Cathy Newman: Do you think he’s got an eye on the Nobel Peace Prize?

Matt Terrill: We’ll see. You have to ask President Trump that. But I think Americans recognise that there is a compare and contrast right now in this past election and this unique opportunity for Americans to look at not what he just did in the domestic elements of his first term, but during the election, Americans looked at his foreign policy elements and recognised that this was a president, whether you like President Trump or not, this was a president who did not start any new wars. Again this is somebody who’s campaigning on peace. It’s one thing to campaign on that narrative and deliver on that. That’s what he needs to do. I think Americans who voted for him in particular are confident he will.