AOC's foreign policy play: From the Politics Desk

This is the online version of From the Politics Desk, a daily newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.

In today’s edition, Sahil Kapur and Scott Wong preview Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s upcoming appearance at the Munich Security Conference. Plus, Jonathan Allen examines how Republicans have been increasingly willing to break with President Donald Trump on certain issues.

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— Adam Wollner

AOC to offer a 'working class' perspective on U.S. foreign policy at Munich summit

By Sahil Kapur and Scott Wong

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., plans to offer her foreign policy vision at the Munich Security Conference this weekend as speculation grows about her political future.

The 36-year-old progressive is popular with the party’s base and has emerged as an influential voice of the opposition to President Donald Trump, leading some colleagues to encourage her to run for president — or perhaps the Senate — in 2028. Although she has been more outspoken on domestic issues, the Munich conference opens up a new door for one of the most recognizable figures in the Democratic Party.

At a moment of global tensions, Ocasio-Cortez is expected to offer a contrasting vision to Trump, who has upended relations with allies as he imposes tariffs and floats acquiring Greenland.

“It’s very important that they see the full spectrum of representation, leadership and thought of the United States,” Ocasio-Cortez told NBC News.

She is slated to speak alongside others on two panels — one about the “rise of populism,” and another about the “future of U.S. foreign policy,” according to her office.

Matt Duss, who is advising Ocasio-Cortez on foreign policy, told NBC News that she was invited to speak.

“She has an opportunity to bring a perspective that is not often represented at one of the big U.S.-European security conferences,” said Duss, a former adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

Ocasio-Cortez will also use the platform to give her prognosis of right-wing populism and provide a “working class perspective” on the intersection of domestic and foreign policy, as Duss put it. He said that Ocasio-Cortez’s foreign policy vision is intertwined with her domestic politics and reflects principles that “she’s been talking about since the first days she came to Congress.”

“She believes in diplomacy as a tool of first resort,” Duss said. “She’s supported reining in the executive branch when it comes to war. She believes the U.S. has an important role to play around the world, but military intervention is not the way to do that. And there’s clearly a strong constituency in the country that agrees with that. That’s a constituency Trump and [Vice President JD] Vance appealed to.”

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Trump faces growing GOP blowback on a range of issues

Analysis by Jonathan Allen

President Donald Trump’s policies and personal conduct regularly generate fierce backlash from his political adversaries. But over the last two months, fresh counterblasts are coming from an unexpected quarter: his allies.

Three House Republicans joined Democrats on Tuesday on a rare procedural vote to rebuke the president and GOP leadership, which paved the way for more GOP lawmakers to vote for a resolution to block Trump’s Canada tariffs on Wednesday. The final head count of Republicans who backed that resolution as it was adopted, with mostly Democratic votes: six.

A Republican governor who leads a national association representing governors of both parties said this week that the group would not attend a typically bipartisan White House meeting because Democrats were not invited. Trump later said all Democratic governors were also invited — with two exceptions.

And last week, Republicans inside and outside Washington rebuked Trump for sharing a social media video that depicted former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes.

The dynamic is playing out across the country and around the globe — on issues from Trump’s posts about the Obamas and slain film director Rob Reiner to the tactics of his mass deportation campaign and the implementation of his tariffs.

But the wave of pushback may be most noteworthy as an indicator of where Republicans stand heading into the midterm elections in November.

The bottom line, according to GOP insiders, is that Trump’s overall approval rating has fallen — down to 39%, according to the latest NBC News Decision Desk Poll of adults — and that makes him less fearsome.

For congressional Republicans facing tough races and the possibility of losing the House, along with those who have chosen to retire rather than face voters, Trump’s falling poll numbers have changed their incentives. Resistance may even grow fiercer once the primary season is finished, political strategists said, and Republican candidates do not have to worry about Trump endorsing their opponents.

“President Trump has demonstrated a willingness, and in fact an eagerness, to engage in primaries in ways that no president ever has — this has kept his [Republican] conference in line,” said Marc Short, who was the White House liaison to Congress and chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence during Trump’s first term. “However, the laws of political gravity still apply, and as there’s less support for his two signature issues of the economy and immigration, he will continue to see more Republicans distance themselves as we get closer to the midterm election.”

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That’s all From the Politics Desk for now. Today’s newsletter was compiled by Adam Wollner.

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