A New World Order
It took the Trump Administration exactly six weeks to announce to the world that it was no longer a trusted ally. With Friday's horrific White House ambush of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Donald Trump and his previously forgotten Vice-President J.D. Vance reminded the world that they are puppets of Vladimir Putin and enemies of Western democracy. The revolting display parroting Russian talking points and denigrating Zelensky for an alleged lack of gratitude was a clear setup and was designed to further the rift between the United States and its Western allies. While the world looks on in horror as Ukraine heroically holds off the Russian Army, Donald Trump and his administration have chosen to sit on the sidelines, gifting Vladimir Putin a clear victory. This is the Cold War reborn and United States Republicans have chosen the red, white, and blue of Russia rather than the red, white, and blue of their home country.
While foreign policy never gets the headlines during presidential elections, it has been clear for the past decade that today's Republican Party is severely compromised. Books will be written a half-century from now detailing the extent to which the party sold its soul to Vladimir Putin. Was it because of kompromat on Trump and others in his circle? Was it because of a longstanding desire to have a (White male) strongman at the head of their own authoritarian government? Was it simply the enemy of my enemy is my friend and a willingness to embrace a foreign adversary that also sought the defeat of Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and Kamala Harris at the polls? Whatever the reason(s), the Guardians Of Putin's good day on Friday was simply the latest in a series of actions benefitting Russia at the expense of the United States and its allies.
Friday showed the world that the United States no longer stands on the side of those with whom it has historic and endearing friendships. It no longer stands for democracy or for decency. It no longer can be trusted to do the right thing when an aggressor nation invades a sovereign state. Long gone are the days of the Persian Gulf War when a Republican president would stand up for the little guy against a hostile invading nation. A compromised twenty-first-century GOP has made itself clear that it will willingly side with the aggressor if that aggressor can benefit the party as a whole. After 80 years of being the dominant military and political nation, the United States is now the world's pimp, willing to sell out its services to the highest bidder, in this case, a country trying desperately to restore itself to its empire of centuries ago. Knowing the country can be bought (or blackmailed) so easily, our allies have no choice but to move forward without us thereby creating a world in which the United States is ceding its role as the indispensable nation that generations of our forefathers fought so courageously to establish. Those who witnessed the fall of the Berlin Wall are now seeing two former adversaries align themselves against an invaded European democracy in what can only be described as a massive shift in geopolitics and one that hardly seemed plausible a decade ago.
But here we are. And I don't blame our allies one bit for moving ahead without us. The truth of the matter is that the world can no longer count on consistent United States leadership. I say consistent because as we all know, Democrats still believe in democracy and diplomacy among our allies. But this past decade's vacillation between Democratic and Republican administrations has proven that the two parties have very different views about what it means to be an ally. For Democrats, being an ally means being an equal partner. It means leading through the "power of our example" as Joe Biden was so fond of saying. It means creating and maintaining alliances, especially when a nation's sovereignty is threatened by an invading nation. It means having an understanding of NATO, the reason for its creation, and what the expectations are for membership among member nations. Most of all, it means standing united for democracy at a time when rising fascism has become the 21st century's greatest threat to world peace and prosperity.
Republican administrations do not see the world this way. They have shifted toward isolationism in a way that threatens our existing relationships. They see trade agreements among allies as something that can be used for extortion to enact policy changes. They see NATO as a business where members should be paying increased fees for membership. Republicans see no problem injecting themselves into our allies' foreign elections, having promoted the neo-Nazi wing to try and increase representation in Germany's most recent parliamentary democracy. Meetings with allies have become tense, with Donald Trump desperately trying to bully foreign leaders with something as simple as a handshake or by pushing to the head of the crowd to get his picture taken. The time-honored practices and traditions of diplomacy have been thrown out the window. Instead, for Republicans, our allies have become nothing more than contestants in a game of who can fellate the president the best. It is a game that nobody wants to play and certainly, nobody wants to watch.
The repercussions of the Trump administration will take a generation or more to overcome. After 80 years, the United States has ceded its role as the world leader. After Friday, our Western allies are moving on without us and fortunately understand how critical it is for Ukraine to defeat Russia. What we are seeing is the beginning of a new world order, with the United States no longer a part of the discussion. In making America great again, Donald Trump and Republicans have made America a pariah on the world stage. Our allies no longer trust us to do the right thing, a shocking statement that would have caused Republicans to collectively lose their shit a mere decade ago. But that was then. This is now. And now we have a president, an administration, and an entire political party that has thrown in its hat with a brutal Russian dictator all so they could win two national elections and give tax cuts to their rich donors.
Lincoln's Party was literally bought for pennies on the ruble. In trying to make America great by bullying our oldest and most trusted allies, Republicans have sided with authoritarian rather than democratic governments. All of this obviously benefits Vladimir Putin. Having an absent United States and a weakened NATO creates one less barrier for him to continue to try and expand his empire. But despite Trump and Vance's accusations, it is Europe and not the United States that has given more money to Ukraine to fend off the Russian invaders. After Friday's folly, European nations are stepping up. The United Kingdom announced separate deals over the weekend to provide nearly $5 billion to Ukraine for loans and for money to purchase 5,000 advanced air defense missiles. There have been redoubled efforts to draft a ceasefire plan to end the invasion. At a time when the United States is retreating into the background, Canada and Europe have filled the void and stepped into critical leadership positions.
Positions made possible by a Republican Party that threw away America's role in the world by openly siding with a murderous dictator.