A short while ago the USA was the undisputed leader of the Western World, the champion of Western values and Democracy.
Then came Trump.
In one short year all that changed.
Firstly, Trump clearly sided with our mutual enemy Putin over Ukraine and threw Europe into confusion.
Then he threatens Canada and Greenland and threatens the future of NATO.
He pulls out of the UN – the bastion of Western vales.
Trump makes disparaging remarks about allies, flattering remarks about enemies and gives support to various right-wing groups who are threatening to overturn Western values in Europe.
As a result alliances are threatened, the USA is not only untrustworthy but is actually seen to be working against the alliances forged over 80 years – increasing global instability and empowering our enemies.
The result is that the Western Allies are forging alliances WITHOUT the USA.
Trump proceeded to throw a spanner into the whole complex global trade network by using tariffs as a weapon. He stupidly thought that he could blackmail the world into doing what he wants and in the process extort huge sums of money out of other countries.
He didn’t seem to understand that trade is a two-way business and that other countries has essential resources or skills that the US did not possess.
Countries retaliated with their own withdrawal of services/goods or retaliatory tariffs.
Countries began looking for alternative markets and cutting the USA out of the loop.
Trump clearly doesn’t believe in democracy. Not only does he openly admire despots and dictators – like Putin and Kim Jung Un – but he seeks to undermine democracy his own country. He is seeking to control the democratic process, take charge of the mechanisms, control how it is done, control the courts and legislators and hold the sort of elections that give Putin 99% of the votes. He wants to be the USA dictator and sees that’s how it’s done.
He wants to rule the world and is setting himself up as the leader with his Board of Peace – loaded with dictators and despots – like Putin, Milei, Netanyahu and Lukashenk – a more scurrilous bunch of authoritarian warmongers you could not assemble. He thinks they can replace the UN and rule the world by force. It’d be like the Third Reich made real.
The destruction of trust will be detrimental to everyone, including the USA most of all. For short-term gain he has ruined long-term relationships, alliances and trade.
America will become increasingly isolated, poorer and irrelevant.
Put a fool in charge backed up by a bunch of useless sycophants and don’t be surprised at the outcome. Only the fool and his sycophants come out of it in profit! (Billions so far!)
