EDITOR'S NOTE: Three Democratic candidates for Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District — Ryan Crosswell, Lamont McClure and Carol Obando-Derstine — visited the Univest Public Media Center for one-on-one policy interviews.
The conversations are the basis of a five-part "PA-7 Talks" series this week ahead of the May 19 primary election.
A fourth candidate, firefighter union boss Bob Brooks, initially agreed to participate but later canceled. His campaign did not respond to requests to reschedule.
The winner of the primary is expected to face U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Lehigh Valley, in November. Mackenzie is uncontested in the Republican primary.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Since returning to office, President Donald Trump has turned longstanding American foreign policies on their head, redrawing decades of international alliances and initiating conflicts that have had political and economic consequences across the globe.
In the past 16 months, Trump has cut off military aid to Ukraine, ordered a military strike team to arrest Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on foreign soil, publicly discussed invading Greenland and annexing Canada, imposed across-the-board tariffs and initiated air strikes that killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Iran.
Lehigh Valley Public Media asked former federal prosecutor Ryan Crosswell, former Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure and energy engineer Carol Obando-Derstine to weigh in on the conflict in Iran and how Congress should adapt to the changing geopolitical climate.
The winner of the Democratic primary will challenge U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie in the general election in November.
Regime change
All three candidates were critical of the Trump's administration's use of military power in Iran and Venezuela.
While all three made clear they harbored no love for Maduro or the ayatollah, they accused Trump of abusing his authority and said Congress needed to act as a check on him.
McClure presented the conflicts as an unacceptable break from the Constitution. Trump didn't seek authorization from Congress, which has not formally declared war, nor gave its blessing for the actions in Venezuela.
Following those steps is critical given America's role at the forefront of the world order, McClure said.
"America must provide not just military leadership, we must provide moral leadership," McClure said. "Trump has absolutely failed to do this in his war with Iran."
Crosswell raised similar concerns, but questioned the decision-making process that led to the conflict. The Trump administration has provided conflicting reasons for America's involvement, he said.
More than a dozen American service members have died in the escalating attacks and hundreds of others have been wounded. That doesn't include the damage that American allies have sustained across the Middle East.
"When you don't have a rationale or objective for going in, you don't have an end state for getting out," Crosswell said. "As a Marine and an officer in the Marine Corps, that is extremely worrisome."
Obando-Derstine argued that resources that have gone into the war with Iran would have been better spent assisting Americans dealing with the rising cost of living.
She criticized Trump and Mackenzie for not doing more to keep their attention on addressing rising expenses on the homefront.
"I have a real problem with this president that is not focused on the challenges that we have here in our country and in our district," she said. She called Mackenzie a rubber stamp.
NATO, soft power and the bully pulpit
The trio similarly was critical of Trump and Mackenzie for fraying relationships with longtime American allies.
Crosswell said that for decades, the United States has functioned as the world's sole superpower by flexing its soft power.
By building diplomatic and economic ties, the United States has developed alliances that has bolstered its own considerable power, he said.
But Trump's decision to cut international aid, start wars and initiate trade disputes has caused allies to rethink the relationship, he said.
He said that Congress should renew international aid to assist counties battling the AIDS epidemic and starvation, saying those efforts engendered international good will that was more valuable than the cost of the programs.
Members of Congress, including Mackenzie, also need to call out the president when he steps over the line, he said. He pointed to Trump's threats to wipe out the Iranian civilization earlier in April as an example.
"You have a platform as a representative of the people. You need to exercise it," Crosswell said. "Every time you don't, it gets easier and easier and easier for these abuses of power, and that's why we're here."
Obando-Derstine, a native of Colombia, said the country under Trump's leadership is not the America to which her parents immigrated when she was a child.
She criticized Trump for alienating allies, pointing to Trump's repeated efforts to buy Greenland from Denmark as an example.
Along with voting to end the military operation in Iran, Congress needs to be a vocal opponent to Trump's decisions to throw out the global order that past generations of Americans worked hard to build, she said.
"It's any and all ways to hold him accountable and exert more restraint from a president that is operating unilaterally," she said. "There is a responsibility of the legislative branch to be a balance to the president, and they are not doing it."
McClure focused his attention on preserving NATO, which he called the most important treaty in American history since the Revolutionary War.
During his first term, Trump pressured NATO allies to step up their military spending, and many have. At the same time, Trump has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin even as he attacked Ukraine, an American ally.
Ties have grown more strained during Trump's second term as he's butted heads with NATO countries for not supporting the United States in its conflict with Iran.
The agreement calls on NATO to provide other members mutual aid when one member is attacked but does not apply in cases where a member country is the aggressor.
"NATO is a bulwark against Russian aggression," he said. "The Russians are not our friends. Vladimir Putin is not someone to be admired. Vladimir Putin is enemy of the United States."
Here are past episodes of "PA Talks":
