Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush will call for the continued global security alliance between the U.S. and Western Europe to keep a watchful eye on Russia, in a foreign policy speech he plans to deliver in Berlin on Tuesday.
Bush also plans to call for approval of the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership in his speech. Excerpts from the speech were provided to the press a few hours before he was scheduled to talk to the Economic Council of the Christian Democratic Party in Berlin.
“Seventy years after America and Western Europe began to build the post-war architecture of security, that alliance is as relevant as the day it was founded,” Bush will say, according to prepared remarks.
“Who will say otherwise, as we watch the fate of Ukraine, slowly unfold in tragedy? Ukraine, a sovereign European nation, must be permitted to choose its own path.”
In his speech, Bush says that the global order established after World War II is essential for keeping Russia in check. But his excerpts do not explain further how he would handle Russia if elected president.
Bush is on a 5-day trip through Europe this week before he formally launches his bid for president.
He made a series of last-minute changes to his campaign staff, announced yesterday, including moving presumptive campaign chief David Kochel over to strategy and tapping aggressive Republican communications strategist Danny Diaz to run the day-to-day operations.
Bush looked like a potential GOP front-runner a little more than six months ago, when he announced he was considering a run for president. But since then, a wide variety of Republican contenders has emerged and drawn away much of that early support, from staunchly conservative former neurosurgeon Ben Carson to polished Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.