Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is beefing up his foreign policy credentials in earnest as a 2016 White House bid becomes more likely.
Walker, who has won some positive early buzz among Republicans for his fledgling presidential campaign, is traveling this week in the United Kingdom as part of a trade mission on behalf of Wisconsin. Walker has been meeting with business leaders and Wisconsin college alumni, as well as touring factories and speaking Wednesday at Chatham House.
But Walker’s trip to London, a favorite foreign stop on the path to the presidency, is just one facet of his work so far toward boning up on foreign policy.
Before he departed for London, Walker conducted a conference call with experts outside of his inner circle, according to a source in contact with Walker’s team.
And Walker already has what the source called an “on-site policy team” in Madison working to bring the governor up to speed and craft a platform for his likely presidential campaign.
Walker’s committee Our American Revival has not yet divulged the names of Walker’s central foreign policy and national security advisers, but confirmed that he has been seeking out policy input.
“In general, Our American Revival is about policy ideas,” said one aide to Walker, “so yes, he often talks to advisors about a lot of issues, domestic and foreign.”
On foreign policy in particular, Walker himself has spoken about meeting with former secretaries of state Henry Kissinger, George Shultz and Madeleine Albright.
“Governors don’t just take trips,” Walker said on ABC’s “This Week” earlier this month. “As a governor, I’ve had risk assessments given to me by the FBI and my adjutant general about threats not only in my state, but around the country.”
In preparation for an election that will likely be heavy on foreign policy and national security issues, other governors who might run for president have been doing their homework, too. Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, for example, started studying up almost immediately following the 2012 election, with calls twice a week for one or two hours. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has also convened after-hours conference calls with experts.
Likewise, Walker is hardly the first would-be Republican presidential candidate to dip his toe across the pond. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush traveled to the U.K. last year, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal made the trip in January, and Christie was there earlier this month.
But some of these trips abroad have been studies in campaign messaging gone awry.
Jindal drew backlash when he accused the U.K. and other European countries of harboring “no-go zones” where Muslim immigrants are allowed to operate under their own laws.
For Christie, the focus shifted away from foreign policy entirely when he seemed to suggest opposition to mandatory vaccinations, a decidedly domestic issue. Christie’s office later clarified his support for vaccines, but not until the comments had sparked a firestorm in the domestic press.
Walker, who arrived in the U.K. on Monday, will remain there through Thursday on official state business.
