During the Cold War, Republicans embraced foreign policy consensus. They recognized the Soviet Union was evil. They, without question, supported Israel’s security against the existential threats the world’s only Jewish state faced. Successive Republican leaders, alongside many Democratic colleagues, understood that the world was safest, freest, and most prosperous when America led.

They also recognized that leadership was not only rhetorical but also material. Theodore Roosevelt, a Republican who served as president during the first decade of the 20th century, famously advised, “Speak softly and carry a big stick. You will go far.” Republicans long understood that diplomacy and influence suffered without corollary investment in military power.