ECONOMY/NATIONAL SECURITY/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Declaring that ‘economic security is national security,’ President Donald Trump aimed to reframe a national debate over his domestic economic and trade policies by thrusting them into a national-security context…
The president on Monday also focused on a more-traditional definition of national security, including China and Russia in a list of threats he said included terrorist groups, transnational criminal networks and ‘rogue regimes,’ a phrase the president has used to describe North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The White House’s new national-security strategy calls for strengthening the U.S. military by expanding missile-defense capabilities and adding to the nuclear-weapons arsenal…
Mr. Trump also has maintained cordial relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, prompting criticism from within his own party amid revelations of Russian tampering in the 2016 presidential election…
Central Intelligence Agency officials wouldn’t comment further on Mr. Trump’s assertion about the plot, and referred questions to the White House.”
-Michael C. Bender, “Trump Lays Out World View in Which Economic Strength Bolsters Security,” The Wall Street Journal online, Dec. 18, 2017 06:00pm