I find that the great majority of public servants across the entire political spectrum come because they believe in the United States and they want to change the world.

If you're always in the company of people who agree with you, you're going to think of people who don't agree with you as venal or stupid. I constantly tell my students that if they're in the company of people who always say "amen" to what you say, find other company. And that is the source of illiberalism, when you are unable to listen to someone who thinks differently. That's when democracies are in trouble.

Defeating human trafficking is a great moral calling of our time...

People may oppose you, but when they realize you can hurt them, they'll join your side.

You know, I look at Vladimir Putin as somebody who is an eye-for-an-eye kind of person. We questioned the legitimacy of his election in 2012, Secretary Clinton did - rightly, by the way. It did have - it was quite fraudulent.And so I think he's saying now, I'm going to show you that I can do the same thing.

It takes courage to set priorities because doing so is an admission that American policy cannot be all things to all people - or rather to all interest groups

Fortunately, I started very young, so I read music very well. And my favorite composers to play are Brahms and Mozart.