US Sen. Tom Cotton, Author, Sacred Duty
Paul Farmer CBE, CEO of Mind
Jeff Maggioncalda, CEO of Coursera
Adm. Timothy J. Keating, USN (Ret.) and Brig. Gen. Robert S. Spalding III, USAF (Ret.)
An Update on Therapies and VaccinesUS Senator Tom Cotton discusses his views on key ideas driving foreign policy in a shifting geopolitical climate and reflects on his time serving in the US Army, including in The Old Guard, performing funerals for fallen soldiers.
On serving in The Old Guard: “For 71 years now, the old guard has been performing military honor funerals for soldiers inside Arlington [National Cemetery] and ceremonies in honor of the military for distinguished leaders from around the world.… I was very honored to be there.… There are not many more missions that I would prefer to be doing that are more meaningful than paying our respects to our fallen comrades or veterans who served in yesteryears wars.”
On the future of US policy toward China: “For too long, the consensus in both parties in Washington has been that China was, at most, a competitor, certainly not a rival or an adversary. That’s not really where things stand out in the middle of the country. I can tell you. And this is one of the areas where [President Trump] won the Republican nomination in 2016 because he saw things more clearly through the voters’ eyes than the Republican leaders. I think two of the big mistakes of the last 25 years have been giving China permanent most favored nation status and the second letting them into the WTO on the terms we did. That’s a bipartisan mistake.”