While not explicitly pledging to stay out of the war, he stated that "our national policy is not directed toward war," and argued that helping Britain now would save Americans from having to fight.
Selv om han ikke direkte lovede at holde sig ud af krigen, sagde han at "vor nationale politik er ikke rette mod krig", og argumenterede for at ved at hjælpe Storbritannien nu ville betyde at amerikanere ikke behøvede at kæmpe.