The End of the American Century
This is a quote for our times.
With Donald Trump's recent plan to unleash futile tariffs on nearly every country sans Russia, we are officially entering an era where America can no longer be seen as a trusted ally and partner. This upends 80 years of post-World War II geopolitics where America was seen as the de facto political leader. Having been spared homeland military and civilian damage and having harnessed the power of the atomic bomb, the United States was uniquely positioned to become the leader of the free world during the mid-20th century. With its unprecedented military power serving as a backdrop, the United States exerted its influence and, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, became the unquestioned global leader. Serving in the United Nations, NATO, and the G7, the United States was seen as a power player worldwide, and its president was always among the key decision makers in the room. From its global humanitarian efforts throughout the globe to its military interventions in places like Kosovo and Kuwait, American diplomacy mattered and our allies came to understand that the United States would always have their back whenever times got tough. The United States was seen as the last great global empire.
But no longer.
Thanks to Donald Trump and the Republican Party, allies like Canada can no longer rely on their neighbor to the south to do the right thing. Mark Carney's quote echoes a previous quote by French European Minister Jean-Barrot Noel who in October of 2024 said that "we cannot leave the security of Europe in the hands of voters in Wisconsin every 4 years." The UK Labor chair of the business and select trade committee, Liam Byrne, has said that "we are not trying to become the 51st state," while Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been trying to tightrope the line between appeasing Trump while simultaneously standing up for his own citizens. Our allies are already working to outflank Donald Trump with German economy minister Robert Habeck insisting that if Europe came together, Trump would "buckle under pressure" and eventually alter his tariff policies. Meanwhile, global markets are crashing, and countries like North Korea, Belarus, Cuba, and Russia, which are exempt from Trump's trade war, are slowly gaining influence rather than remaining the pariahs that they ought to be for their egregious human rights violations. All this is happening, and we are less than 3 full months into this newest Republican administration.
With Donald Trump's recent plan to unleash futile tariffs on nearly every country sans Russia, we are officially entering an era where America can no longer be seen as a trusted ally and partner. This upends 80 years of post-World War II geopolitics where America was seen as the de facto political leader. Having been spared homeland military and civilian damage and having harnessed the power of the atomic bomb, the United States was uniquely positioned to become the leader of the free world during the mid-20th century. With its unprecedented military power serving as a backdrop, the United States exerted its influence and, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, became the unquestioned global leader. Serving in the United Nations, NATO, and the G7, the United States was seen as a power player worldwide, and its president was always among the key decision makers in the room. From its global humanitarian efforts throughout the globe to its military interventions in places like Kosovo and Kuwait, American diplomacy mattered and our allies came to understand that the United States would always have their back whenever times got tough. The United States was seen as the last great global empire.
But no longer.
Thanks to Donald Trump and the Republican Party, allies like Canada can no longer rely on their neighbor to the south to do the right thing. Mark Carney's quote echoes a previous quote by French European Minister Jean-Barrot Noel who in October of 2024 said that "we cannot leave the security of Europe in the hands of voters in Wisconsin every 4 years." The UK Labor chair of the business and select trade committee, Liam Byrne, has said that "we are not trying to become the 51st state," while Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been trying to tightrope the line between appeasing Trump while simultaneously standing up for his own citizens. Our allies are already working to outflank Donald Trump with German economy minister Robert Habeck insisting that if Europe came together, Trump would "buckle under pressure" and eventually alter his tariff policies. Meanwhile, global markets are crashing, and countries like North Korea, Belarus, Cuba, and Russia, which are exempt from Trump's trade war, are slowly gaining influence rather than remaining the pariahs that they ought to be for their egregious human rights violations. All this is happening, and we are less than 3 full months into this newest Republican administration.
The repercussions from this asinine trade war will reverberate for generations to come. Because Mark Carney is correct: America can no longer be trusted. And Jean-Barrot Noel is correct as well: the fate of the free world shouldn't come down to 7 American swing states every 4 years. Yes, we know that Democratic administrations believe in democracy and diplomacy. Over the past two Democratic administrations, America has led efforts with the Paris Climate Agreement, the Iran Nuclear Deal, and the global effort to stymie Russia in its invasion of Ukraine. There's a reason why Democratic presidents' international approval ratings are always significantly higher than Republicans', and that reason is that Democratic administrations still believe in the good of alliances and international cooperation. International allies never lost sleep with Barack Obama or Joe Biden at the helm because they knew that their administrations would rely on experts and truly, genuinely try to do what was best given the situation at the time. Our allies never doubted that Democrats truly cared about doing what was right.
But Republicans no longer do. Their nativist America First policies mean that they see allied nations as clients rather than countries. They see alliances like NATO being based on membership fees rather than longstanding relationships. They see neighbors like Canada and Mexico as the cause of drug trafficking and illegal immigration rather than centuries of exploitative American policies that have led to the problems themselves. When you have an administration full of billionaires, they see the world through profits and portfolios rather than partnerships and possibilities. With such a complete polarity of approaches, you cannot blame our allies for moving on without us. Rather than waiting for the fickle American voters to elect good Democrats every four years, it's simply easier to remove the United States from the equation entirely to focus on other long-term democratic allies. Even with the threat of the far-right to emerge in countries like the United Kingdom, Germany, and France, those parliamentary democracies still have enough bandwidth to shut down the rising threat of fascism when they see it, something that the United States has proven itself unable to do. For the first time in 80 years, we've become so unreliable that even our allies want nothing to do with us.
History will look at how we got here. But there can be no denying that Donald Trump's Republican Party has made the world infinitely less safe. Through vindictive, pointless economic terrorism, Trump has officially ostracized the United States on the global stage. We've lost Canada. Mexico is currently outplaying Trump, but they're always in his crosshairs. The United Kingdom is walking a fine line by placating Trump but not completely giving in. The European Union will be planning countermeasures as early as this week. All while Russia and North Korea build and all these advanced economies falter. At a time when the world should be united against these bad actors, they are given a free pass by the one man who has done more to damage America's reputation than any man in American history. One man whose party has completely undermined 80 years of American diplomacy, all so that they could placate their boss's obscene desires to tax our dearest friends and allies. The American Century is over, and it was Donald Trump and Republicans who are 100% to blame.
What happens now is anybody's guess.
But Republicans no longer do. Their nativist America First policies mean that they see allied nations as clients rather than countries. They see alliances like NATO being based on membership fees rather than longstanding relationships. They see neighbors like Canada and Mexico as the cause of drug trafficking and illegal immigration rather than centuries of exploitative American policies that have led to the problems themselves. When you have an administration full of billionaires, they see the world through profits and portfolios rather than partnerships and possibilities. With such a complete polarity of approaches, you cannot blame our allies for moving on without us. Rather than waiting for the fickle American voters to elect good Democrats every four years, it's simply easier to remove the United States from the equation entirely to focus on other long-term democratic allies. Even with the threat of the far-right to emerge in countries like the United Kingdom, Germany, and France, those parliamentary democracies still have enough bandwidth to shut down the rising threat of fascism when they see it, something that the United States has proven itself unable to do. For the first time in 80 years, we've become so unreliable that even our allies want nothing to do with us.
History will look at how we got here. But there can be no denying that Donald Trump's Republican Party has made the world infinitely less safe. Through vindictive, pointless economic terrorism, Trump has officially ostracized the United States on the global stage. We've lost Canada. Mexico is currently outplaying Trump, but they're always in his crosshairs. The United Kingdom is walking a fine line by placating Trump but not completely giving in. The European Union will be planning countermeasures as early as this week. All while Russia and North Korea build and all these advanced economies falter. At a time when the world should be united against these bad actors, they are given a free pass by the one man who has done more to damage America's reputation than any man in American history. One man whose party has completely undermined 80 years of American diplomacy, all so that they could placate their boss's obscene desires to tax our dearest friends and allies. The American Century is over, and it was Donald Trump and Republicans who are 100% to blame.
What happens now is anybody's guess.