Estimated read time: 7-8 minutes
SALT LAKE CITY — Antony Blinken's stepfather was held in a Nazi death camp for two years during World War II. He escaped with a friend during a forced march in Bavaria, and as they ran for their lives they came upon a tank, Blinken said.
The tank had a five-pointed star on it, and as the men approached an American G.I. poked his head out of the top. Blinken's stepfather then said the three English words he knew, "God bless America."
Blinken, who is Jewish, told the story during a conversation in Salt Lake City on Thursday with former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Jeff Flake, who is now chairman of the board at World Trade Center Utah.
After serving for four years during the Biden administration, Blinken said he is now "retired," which means he's primarily spending time with his two young children, who are 6 and 5 years old.
During his remarks to Utah's political and business leaders at the Crossroads of the World International Trade Summit, a two-day, invitation-only event sponsored by Zions Bank and World Trade Center Utah, Blinken called for the U.S. to remain the "last, best hope" of the world by continuing to assert global leadership.
He also spoke about why he felt it was important for the U.S. to back Ukraine after Russia invaded in 2022, and the war in Gaza, following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attacks.
The world comes to Utah
Blinken was among the many global leaders who were in Salt Lake City on Wednesday and Thursday to speak at the summit.
Earlier on Thursday, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke with Harris Simmons, chairman and CEO of Zions Bancorporation. Her remarks were off the record.
Simmons told the Deseret News that tariffs and supply chain issues are top of mind for people at the summit.
"Secretary Rice made the observation that we're not going back to a China where we have the kind of supply chain that has existed for the last two to three decades — that's a thing of the past," he said.
That's different, he said, than what was expected after China joined the World Trade Organization, and will lead businesses to review their supply chains.
"We all hope that President (Donald) Trump is successful in negotiating trade deals that are in the mutual interest of the U.S. and our trading partners," Simmons said. "It is going to cause some disruption."
In addition to Blinken and Rice, Thursday's summit attendees also heard from former U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May, former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
Flake gets to grill his old boss
At the beginning of their conversation, Flake joked about getting to question a "tough boss."
As secretary of state, Blinken oversaw Flake during his time as ambassador to Turkey.
Flake served during a tenuous time in the region, including during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan — which did not come up during his conversation with Blinken — and the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, which they did discuss.
Blinken had high praise for Flake and his service as ambassador. He called Flake "the right person in the right place at the right time."
Blinken's 2 concerns about American global leadership
President Trump is taking a very different approach to foreign policy than the Biden administration did, asserting an "America first" policy on the global stage that includes tariffs, a reduction in foreign aid and criticism of even close allies.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is attempting to negotiate a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia, and he and special envoy Steven Witkoff are also trying to stop the fighting in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.
Blinken said he hopes the U.S. will maintain its position as a leader in the world.
"The world doesn't organize itself," he said. The lack of American leadership could lead to a vacuum that is filled by others looking to take its place.
His second concern is related to the Trump administration's decision to cut funds for USAID and other foreign aid organizations. "The return on that investment is extraordinary," he said.
Without those tools of soft power, the U.S. will need to find other ways to communicate and cooperate with others, he said.
Blinken on why the US supported Ukraine
In 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine for the second time in a decade, Blinken said the Biden administration believed strongly they had to help them.
"This was an aggression not just against Ukraine, but against the very principles that had been at the heart of the international system since the end of World War II," he said.
Blinken said if they had let that aggression go forward, others would think they could also get away with it, pointing specifically to China's ambitions with Taiwan.
He said he believes if the ceasefire and peace deal the Trump administration is trying to negotiate moves forward, it will just give Russian President Vladimir Putin time to retrench and rebuild his forces.
To stop that, he said, the U.S. should support Europe's aims to put troops along the demarcation line, or the U.S. should welcome Ukraine into NATO.
The Trump administration says it wants to stop the killing of troops and civilians on both sides of the border. While it's tough to be sure, estimates are that more than half a million soldiers and civilians have been killed in the war.
Trump is also staunchly opposed to inviting Ukraine to join NATO, and instead has signed a critical minerals agreement with Kyiv to strengthen economic ties between the two countries.
Blinken asked about Trump tariffs, China
Flake asked Blinken whether Trump's decisions to put additional tariffs on goods coming into the U.S. from China was a good decision.
Blinken said he agreed with the tariffs Trump levied during his first four years in office, which were continued during the Biden administration, but said instead of additional tariffs, President Joe Biden took a different approach with China.
In order to counter some of China's trade practices, Biden wanted to "invest in ourselves," by spending money on infrastructure and to boost chip manufacturing. The administration also tried to align with European and other allies to counter China's dominance in manufacturing.
China manufactures one-third of the goods consumed across the world, he said.
Blinken said decoupling U.S. and Chinese markets is a "fantasy," and said instead the U.S. should engage in "derisking."
On Trump's decision to levy 10% across-the-board tariffs, Blinken said the industrial tax increase will be a "sea change" for the global economy. He said he hopes the tariffs will eventually be much more narrowly focused.
Blinken on war in Gaza
Blinken called the Hamas attacks "one of the most horrific events in my lifetime. The worst slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust."
The "deepest poison" in the world is dehumanization, Blinken said. When that sets in, everything bad is so much easier, and everything good is so much harder, he said.
"Nowhere is that more clear, evident, powerful than in the Middle East," he said.
Blinken said the Biden administration felt strongly they had to defend Israel after Hamas attacked, while also trying to contain the fighting so it didn't become a regional conflict. He also expressed concerns about the Palestinians and how they have suffered because of Hamas.
A final agreement, Blinken said, should include a state for Palestinians — something Trump has said he doesn't support.
At the end of his remarks, Blinken circled back to the anecdote he told about his stepfather at the beginning.
He said he hopes the U.S. will maintain the trust of its allies so it can remain the world's "last, best hope."
Correction: An earlier version of this story said Antony Blinken was the first Jewish secretary of State. He was not.
