Story highlights Trump called Russia and China "rival powers" but stopped short of calling out Moscow for its election meddling

The strategy envisages a world in constant rivalry for economic and security influence, but downplays global agreements

Washington (CNN) President Donald Trump on Monday framed his foreign policy as an extension of his populist economic message, lambasting past presidents and trumpeting his own achievements during a speech meant to outline the guiding principles of his national security strategy.

In a speech that closely resembled a campaign address, Trump offered a laundry list of accomplishments and a reiteration of his view that Americans have been left behind as a result of decisions made by past administrations, including on immigration, the Iran nuclear deal, and trade pacts.

And while Trump repeated some core aspects of the foreign policy strategy document that his aides have spent the past eleven months preparing, he reserved much of his address for touting domestic economic growth and lambasting his predecessors for damaging American security.

"For many years, our citizens watched as Washington politicians presided over one disappointment after another; too many of our leaders -- so many -- who forgot whose voices they were to respect, and whose interest they were supposed to defend," Trump said in a speech to collection of uniformed military personnel and members of his cabinet assembled at an auditorium in downtown Washington.

"On top of everything else, our leaders drifted from American principles, they lost sight of America's destiny, and they lost their belief in American greatness," Trump said. "As a result, our citizens lost something as well. The people lost confidence in their government and eventually even lost confidence in their future."

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