The head of Donald Trump's national security advisory committee said Sunday the presumptive GOP nominee's defense philosophy is "close" to that of esteemed diplomat and political scientist Henry Kissinger.
In an interview on
"Fox News Sunday With Chris Wallace," Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions said after
recent meetings with Kissinger and former Secretary of State James Baker, Trump is "focused on being even more prepared."
"His basic philosophy and approach to national defense and foreign policy is close to the Kissinger type model," Sessions said. "It's realism, it's caution, it's being more cautious about how we deploy our men and women in harm's way, not to be involved in excessive efforts to alter – create democracies in countries that are not ready for it."
Sessions says as commander-in-chief, Trump doesn't have to know "everything the day you hit the office."
"I think his instincts are really correct," he added. "He believes in peace through strength. He believes in identifying threats that are threats to us. What does it do to America? … But at the same time, we recognize there are limits and we need to have more support from our allies. … He's gaining support from the best minds on some of these issues."
Sessions also thinks Trump and former Defense Secretary Robert Gates –
who has been critical of Trump's readiness to lead – are more in agreement than not.
"I think Secretary Gates will find and Donald Trump will find as time goes by they're closer to agreement than many would think," he declared. "Secretary Gates opposed the Libyan action. He was correct to do so."
"Donald Trump has said he would have early on a meeting of NATO to discuss our common aims and goals and to talk with them about giving more money and sharing more of the cost. As Secretary Gates has firmly said, they must share more of the cost. So, I think they are in agreement there."
Sessions also defended Trump's quick assertion that the crash of an EgyptAir plane last Thursday was the result of a terrorist bomb, saying "that will probably be found out to be true."
"We're so politically correct," he said. "If it's not a terrorist attack, that's great news, but it probably is and we should be able to talk about it and actually take action as soon as possible to deal with those kind of threats. And we can't be in denial."
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