'America First' foreign policy: Then and now

President Franklin D. Roosevelt
In this Jan. 6, 1941 file photo, with World War II looming, President Franklin D. Roosevelt addresses a joint session of Congress as Speaker Sam Rayburn, left, and Vice President John N. Garner, look on.
AP File 1941

The long history of debate over America's role in the world, and whether to be interventionist or isolationist. President Trump's "America First" nationalistic approach has been seen before.

Lynne Olson talks about Roosevelt and Lindbergh pre-World War II. Stephen Kinzer goes back to 1899's Treaty of Paris with Theodore Roosevelt, Mark Twain, Booker T. Washington and others having what he calls "the mother of all debates in American foreign policy."

Neal Conan's guests in this edition of his "Truth, Politics and Power" series are:

Lynne Olson, author of "Those Angry Days: Roosevelt, Lindbergh, and America's Fight Over World War II."

Stephen Kinzer, author of "The True Flag: Theodore Roosevelt, Mark Twain and the Birth of American Empire."

Paul Miller, associate director of the Clements Center for History, Strategy and Statecraft at the University of Texas at Austin.

To listen to the program, click the audio player above.

Create a More Connected Minnesota

MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.