Now that President Donald Trump has successfully recreated the "Big Stick" spoken of by President Theodore Roosevelt, his next step is to learn to balance that with the rest of the quote — speaking softly, former George H.W. Bush chief of staff John Sununu told Newsmax TV.
Following Trump's order last week of 59 Tomahawk missile strikes on a Syrian airbase, "he's got to do a combination of making sure people know the Big Stick is there, but a combination of [speaking] softly and carrying that stick is probably the next set of steps," Sununu said.
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Trump now should start putting additional pressure on the Chinese to deal with North Korea, Sununu told Monday's "The Steve Malzberg Show," as well as making sure America's allies are more active participants with us against Syria.
The airstrike in response to the Assad regime's use of chemical weapons on civilians has made that easier, Sununu said. Syrian officials insist they used only conventional weapons that hit a stockpile of chemical weapons used by Syrian rebels.
"I think they were very important actions," Sununu told guest host Bill Tucker. "The world really began to get extremely nervous over those eight years [of the Obama administration] that the United States was walking away from the responsibilities that come with being the major super power left in the world.
"And what Donald Trump did with his message to Syria was to say the United States understands it has a serious responsibility, it has to lead, it has to help coordinate the actions of our allies, it has to be a strong voice, and it cannot tolerate such inhumane actions as a country using poison gas and gassing their own citizens."
As for critics who say the Trump White House is sending mixed signals on Syria, Sununu responded, "I'm not confused," and neither were world leaders who complimented Trump for taking decisive, but measured action.
North Korea is more difficult, he said, because "it's run by a crazy man" who could do unpredictable and irrational things. Trump must work with South Korea and other Asian allies as well as China to squeeze North Korea on receiving agricultural products if it continues pursuing nuclear capability.
Sununu called the appointment of Justice Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court as "a combination of confidence and hope."
Judicial hopefuls often hold their beliefs close to the vest in hopes of receiving lifetime appointments, but in the case of Gorsuch, he said, "I'm both hopeful, and I think I have a little bit of confidence that it's going to work out."
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