Trump pushes to quit the trade deal with South Korea and one old interview of the NYT of March 2016 with Trump to put that in the geopolitical context of Trump's Asia foreign strategy.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/03/trump-south-korea-trade-north-nuclear-missile-crisis
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/27/us/politics/donald-trump-transcript.html?mcubz=3
From the NYT interview:
"HABERMAN [NYT]: So, you have said on several occasions that you want Japan and South Korea to pay more for their own defense. You’ve been saying versions of that about Japan for 30 years.
Would you object if they got their own nuclear arsenal, given the threat that they face from North Korea and China?"
"TRUMP: Well, you know, at some point, there is going to be a point at which we just can’t do this [protection] anymore. ....... .......... long answer not really adding anything ........... ............ "
"SANGER [NYT]: So, just to follow Maggie’s thought there, though, the Japanese view has always been, if the United States, at any point, felt as if it was uncomfortable defending them, there has always been a segment of Japanese society, and of Korean society that said, “Well, maybe we should have our own nuclear deterrent, because if the U.S. isn’t certain, we need to make sure the North Koreans know that.” Is that a reasonable position.
Do you think at some point they should have their own arsenal?
"TRUMP: Well, it’s a position that we have to talk about, and it’s a position that at some point is something that
we have to talk about, and if the United States keeps on its path, its current path of weakness,
they’re going to want to have that anyway with or without me discussing it, because I don’t think they feel very secure in what’s going on with our country, David. You know, if you look at how we backed our enemies, it hasn’t – how we backed our allies – it hasn’t exactly been strong. When you look at various places throughout the world, it hasn’t been very strong. And I just don’t think we’re viewed the same way that we were 20 or 25 years ago, or 30 years ago. And, you know,
I think it’s a problem. You know, something like that, unless we get very strong, very powerful and very rich, quickly, I’m sure those things are being discussed over there anyway without our discussion.
The way I summarise that:
Unless the countries protected by the US nuclear deterrence give enough trade benefits to the US, enabling the US to be strong and rich again like earlier in the cold war, they are on their own, with or without their own nuclear defence.
And ofc Trump mentions somewhere in the interview that he is against nuclear proliferation, but after all: it is America First, the really consistent strategy of Trump.
The card he (Bannon) plays to protected countries/allies is: make us, the US, richer. Pay for the protection with better trade deals.
The card he (Bannon) plays to China/Russia: you end up surrounded by countries having their own nuclear (Japan, NK, SK, India, Pakistan, France, UK)
