International Affairs student Matthew Rakestraw had the opportunity to sit down with former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn of Georgia, the namesake of the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, to discuss the world today. Their conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: If you were in the Senate today, how would you do your job in a political climate so divided and polarized as ours?

Sen. Nunn: It would be a lot more difficult in today’s atmosphere than when I was there. We approached it more on the issue itself and wrestling with that issue, seeing where we could agree and not agree. That would still be my approach. 

I think the strength of the committee system has eroded. Things today get kicked up to the leadership level, whether it’s the healthcare bill or whether it’s some other major legislation. And the committees don’t serve as strong a function. They are still important, but if I were there, I would really be trying to strengthen the committees. Committees should be looked at more as how you build coalitions to pass meaningful legislation for the benefit of the people.

Q: How has the United States' engagement in NATO changed since the start of the second Trump administration?

Nunn: The world situation and the risks, particularly the nuclear risks, have gone up very significantly. Unfortunately, because of the comments of the Trump administration about whether we would come to the rescue if there was an invasion involving NATO members and raising doubts in the minds of Europeans in that regard, there is certainly for the first time in several decades discussion about how they become more independent of America.

They certainly need to be much stronger than they are, and I totally agree with the Trump administration’s efforts to get the Europeans to step up more to the plate themselves. But I would not do it by raising the whole question of whether Article 5 still applies. That is the heart of the alliance.

Q: President Trump has decided that tariffs on imports will be a key economic and political lever in his second term. How will these tariffs impact America's trading relationships with our closest allies?

 Nunn: The tariffs have come about not just on economic matters, but also on drug matters and on immigration matters. Which makes it much more difficult, because tariffs are really taxes.

Mexico and Canada are good neighbors. We have immigration problems from the south and no doubt that’s a serious problem. Cooperation on the immigration question depends on strengthening the countries to the south, not just Mexico, but the countries to the south of Mexico. I think we need a whole review of our policy and how the whole region can work together to greatly strengthen those countries in terms of their prosperity, their economic viability, and their governance so that we will not have such a major part of the populations of those countries trying to get to our own country.

The strangest thing of all to me is the Republican Party has always championed lower tax rates because they knew that was important to economic growth. Sometimes they may take it too far, but nevertheless that has been a historic Republican Party position. This is the largest global tax increase, including tax on American citizens, we have seen in many, many years.

I would hope President Trump would develop a win-win type approach and that China would do likewise. When you have an approach that for you to win, your counterpart has to lose, it means it is extremely difficult to get any kind of lasting agreement.

Q: Farmers are concerned with how tariffs will impact their markets and their ability to plan for future crops. What should Georgia farmers expect to come their way as President Trump's tariffs are levied?

Nunn: I think Georgia farmers are going to get hurt like all the other farmers in the country who need markets abroad. It depends on the crop as to how much we sell abroad and how important that market is, but most Georgia crops depend on customers, not just in our own country and our own region, but customers abroad.

I think that is true with everything from blueberries to pecans to the meat industry. We depend on other states, and we depend on other regions of the country, and other regions of the world. Agriculture has a huge stake in global trade.

Q: The Democratic Party suffered a bitter defeat in November. What changes do you think the party should make to regain the trust of the American people?

Nunn: The perception is the Democratic Party has moved too far left. Whether that is entirely accurate or not can certainly be debated. One of the things Democrats have to recognize is the further left the Democratic Party is perceived to be, the more right the Republican Party is likely to be.

Q: What advice do you have for internationally minded students who want to make the world a better place?

Nunn: I think studying history is a hugely important building block for diplomacy, for international relationships, and for the international business side of the economy.