Trump in 2013 op-ed: ‘Leave borders behind’

Donald Trump called for the world to “leave borders behind and go for global unity,” to promote prosperity in a 2013 op-ed, a stance at odds with the GOP nominee’s current comments about globalization and trade deals.

Trump had penned the op-ed for CNN during the 2013 World Economic Forum, a gathering of the government and business elites Trump now criticizes on the campaign trail.

{mosads}In it he argued that it was “time for working together for the best of all involved” as the world recovered from the 2008 financial crisis.

“Never before has the phrase ‘we’re all in this together’ had more resonance or relevance,” wrote Trump. “In this case, the solution is clear. We will have to leave borders behind and go for global unity when it comes to financial stability.”

The op-ed was resurfaced by Mother Jones in June, when the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union and again on Wednesday by Business Insider ahead of the final presidential debate.

The op-ed provides a sharp contrast with Trump’s economic policy as a presidential candidate.

Trump has repeatedly railed against trade deals, claiming that the U.S. was ripped off while negotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership, and that trading partners China and Mexico are “laughing at us.”

In July, he also denounced “a rigged economy” controlled by “powerful corporations, media elites and political dynasties” intent on opening borders to uncontrolled trade and immigration.

“Hillary Clinton and her friends in global finance want to scare America into thinking small — and they want to scare the American people out of voting for a better future,” Trump said that month in a speech near Pittsburgh.

“I want you to imagine how much better our future can be if we declare independence from the elites who’ve led us to one financial and foreign policy disaster after another.”

Lately, Trump has stepped up his rhetoric, arguing that a cabal of media elites and “international bankers” are working to elect Hillary Clinton, language some critics have called anti-Semitic.

But Trump’s supporters say his free trade skepticism traces back to the 1980s, when he made similar criticisms of Japan and China while proposing high taxes on imports from those countries.

Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton also opposes the Trans-Pacific Partnership, but has expressed openness to trade deals that protect American jobs.