“Presidents are not unilateral rulers,” James Baker added. | Getty James Baker: Trump 'won't get my panties in a wedge'

Former Secretary of State James Baker “won’t get my panties in a wedge” over Donald Trump.

Baker, who also served as treasury secretary and White House chief of staff under presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, was sharply critical of Trump’s foreign policy plans in an interview with the Financial Times. Asked then if he thought the country was strong enough to weather the shock of a Trump presidency, Baker was unfazed.


“I won’t get my panties in a wedge because of what I am hearing from the political candidates,” said Baker, who met with Trump in Washington last month. “What they say in the campaign and what they do once they are in the White House are not the same thing. I don’t care who wins, whoever gets to the White House. Presidents can do a lot but they can only do so much through the system of checks and balances.”

“Presidents are not unilateral rulers,” Baker added. “If they did not know that, they will find out soon enough.”

Even though Baker seemed unworried by the possibility of a Trump White House, he had little positive to say about Trump’s foreign policy.

“Isolationism and protectionism won’t work,” he said. “Don’t talk no trade deals; make a better deal. Don’t talk about making Japan and South Korea nuclear powers. Don’t talk about negotiating down the American debt.”