Spotlight: Giuliani, Romney pit hardliner against moderate for U.S. Secretary of State

President-elect Donald Trump is narrowing down his choices to fill the position of U.S. Secretary of State, with two of the four candidates representing the choice of a hardliner against a moderate.

Incoming President Trump is scrambling to put together a cabinet before he takes office several weeks down the road, and his choices for the nation's top diplomat are down to a list of four - former candidate for president Mitt Romney, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, Gen. David Petraeus and Sen. Bob Corker.

The choice of Romney or Giuliani could put two very different faces on U.S. foreign policy, as Romney is a more moderate candidate representing more mainstream viewpoints, and Giuliani is more of a hardliner, having governed the city of New York in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks on his home city and Washington, which killed nearly 3,000 people.

"With Giuliani, nominating him as Secretary of State will satisfy the Trump grassroots and demonstrate that Trump is willing to shake up the status-quo in terms of the way the State Department works and the shape of American diplomacy," Dan Mahaffee, an analyst with the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, told Xinhua.

"For Americans who believe that the Obama Administration has been unable to demonstrate strong American leadership on the diplomatic stage, Giuliani will be seen as the vanguard of a much more muscular foreign and diplomatic policy," he said.

Indeed, critics have blasted U.S. President Barack Obama in recent years for what they say has been a weak U.S. foreign policy that has emboldened enemies such as the terror group Islamic State, and Giuliani would likely seek to reverse those perceptions. However, the choice of Giuliani could be a concern for U.S. allies, experts said.

"The downside is that this will further the uncertainty among American allies and potentially lead to ambiguity-or, worse, miscalculation-on the global stage," Mahaffee said.

There are also concerns that career diplomats will leave the foreign service and create a gap that will not be easily filled.

"Concerns about Giuliani's leadership style could result in an exodus of career foreign service staff, which would be difficult to replace-both in terms of physical staff as well as expertise. Additionally, the various speaking and consulting contracts that Giuliani has held with foreign governments and foreign entities could raise scandals during the confirmation process," he said.

As for Romney, there is the advantage of demonstrating magnanimity following the election and demonstrating that Trump wants to build a team that encompasses the entire breadth of viewpoints in the GOP, Mahaffee said.

"It would also be reassuring to many Americans, as well as allies overseas, that Trump has sought to bring a steady hand on as the nation's chief diplomat, even if Trump has been willing to challenge the orthodoxies such as support for NATO and allies like Japan and South Korea," he said.

Indeed, Trump sparked alarm in South Korea during his campaign when he said the U.S. should pull troops out of that country and force the nation to defend itself instead of depending on the United States to do so. Trump also suggested that both Japan and South Korea go nuclear to defend against foreign threats, leading to concerns that such a move could spark an Asian nuclear arms race.

"That said, Romney may also be in the awkward position, as Secretary of State, of being more moderate than President Trump, and that he will find himself responding to statements that Trump has made outside of diplomatic channels-such as tweets or comments to the press at rallies," Mahaffee said.

Regardless of who gets the position, the first task for Trump's secretary of state will be to reassure allies that the United States will continue to be a willing partner in their defense, while also demonstrating that a key goal of the Trump administration is to restore the credibility of the United States-especially after what many American conservatives view as the failed foreign policy of the Obama Administration, he said.

But the choice of either Romney or Giuliani is not a done deal.

"Even with all the attention on Giuliani and Romney, I would not rule out General Petraeus or Senator Bob Corker as attractive candidates for the Secretary of State post, should Trump be unsatisfied with the choice of Giuliani or Romney," Mahaffee said. Enditem