A world without U.S. leadership is no longer some vague and lamentable
future possibility. We are seeing with our own eyes what such a world
looks like, with the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic a prime
example.
In May, as the worldwide death toll surpassed a quarter of a
million people, leaders from all over the world joined by
videoconference to coordinate efforts to find and raise money for an
effective vaccine. The summit was organized by the European Union and
ended with pledges of more than $8 billion, along with commitments by
world leaders to pool their efforts to find and distribute effective
medications against a virus from which none of their citizens were safe.
Other than its virtual nature, it was the kind of gathering we have
always envisioned when we picture global cooperation to deal with a
major emergency but for one striking fact: the absence of the world’s
richest and most powerful country, the United States. In the midst of
the kind of global crisis that would usually lead much of the world to
look to Washington for leadership, the chair normally reserved for the
United States was
empty.
The failure of the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to
build an international coalition to combat the coronavirus is in fact
only the latest manifestation of a deeper and potentially lasting
failure. Indeed, among all of Trump’s foreign-policy legacies, none may
be more consequential than the damage he has done to America’s standing,
influence, and power in the world by weakening the system of
partnerships and alliances the country has created and relied on for
decades. Since the start of his Trump has abandoned multiple treaties and agreements, undermined the
credibility of U.S. defense guarantees, bullied and belittled allies,
and cozied up to dictators who threaten those allies and the United
States. His “America First” doctrine—with its ominous echoes of the
1930s—and indifference to the rule of law at home and abroad have left
allies wondering if they can count on the United States; many have
started to look elsewhere for more reliable friends and partners. The
result is a world in which the United States is less safe, less
respected, and less able to deal with the enormous challenges it faces:
climate change, pandemics, refugees, cyberattacks, election
interference, nuclear proliferation, terrorism, modern technology, and
the rise of China.
The collapse in global regard for the United States has been breathtakingly swift under this president. Even before
collapsing further due to Trump’s mishandling of the pandemic, confidence in him to “do the right thing” in international affairs stood at
just 29 percent among 32 countries polled—down from
74 percent
in former President Barack Obama’s final year in office. Global
confidence in Trump is significantly lower than in German Chancellor
Angela Merkel (46 percent), French President Emmanuel Macron (41
percent), and Russian President Vladimir Putin (33 percent)—and just one
point higher than in Chinese leader Xi Jinping (28 percent). Germans
are now
equally divided on whether the United States (37 percent) or China (36 percent) is their closest partner, while just
28 percent of Britons
trust the United States to act responsibly. Confidence in Trump is only
36 percent in Japan, 32 percent in the United Kingdom, 28 percent in
Canada, 28 percent in Brazil, 20 percent in France, 13 percent in
Germany, and a mere 8 percent in Mexico, while favorable views of the
United States have fallen from
64 percent in 2016 to 53 percent in 2019. Asked in June whether she trusted Trump, Merkel paused before
saying only “I work with elected presidents around the world, including, of course, the American one.”
Read the complete report: :
Trump Has Destroyed America’s Power and Influence
