US President Donald Trump’s domestic and foreign agenda will bring misery to Americans and non-Americans alike, tarnishing the country’s reputation for years to come. It now falls to American citizens and legislators to defend the democratic values that have long underpinned the country’s global leadership.
LONDON – My mother used to say of those whose rise to fame was built on bluster rather than talent: “Mark my words. It will all end in tears.” It’s a safe bet that this will be the fate of US President Donald Trump and his sycophants. Unfortunately, the tears will not be theirs alone. America will bear the cost of their recklessness – and so, inevitably, will the rest of the world.
People who don’t live in the United States may think they are safe, but as the world’s leading superpower – and once the standard-bearer for the values that underpinned much of the progress of the past 80 years – what happens in America does not stay in America. The collective well-being and security of open societies worldwide have long depended on the wisdom and courage of US presidents, dating back to Franklin D. Roosevelt. Even Richard Nixon, for all his faults, left behind meaningful diplomatic achievements, particularly his opening to China.
While no one knows exactly when or how things will unravel, storm clouds are unmistakably gathering in Washington and beyond. A constitutional crisis (or worse) appears to be in the offing as the Trump administration undermines the rule of law – once a cornerstone of American democracy – to target its political opponents and critics.
To be sure, there are precedents for this kind of behavior – notably in Europe during the 1930s and 1940s. And if that comparison strikes you as absurd or unfair, consider Trump’s recent remarks at the Justice Department. Independent judges and law enforcement officers were described as “really bad people,” who “tried to turn America into a corrupt communist and third-world country.”
Over the past two months, Trump has been systematically dismantling the constitutional guardrails limiting executive power. Whether he succeeds largely depends on whether American are willing to live under an emerging authoritarian regime.
As Trump and his loyalists threaten to impeach judges who rule against their agenda, it falls to voters and lawmakers to defend the institutions and values that have underpinned the country’s global leadership. Legislators, in particular, face a critical choice: uphold their constitutional authority or look the other way as it is steadily eroded. Many – especially Republicans – are under enormous pressure to stay silent, owing to the threat of primary challenges, possibly bankrolled by Elon Musk.
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So far, the outlook is anything but reassuring. Alarmingly, many once-principled Republicans, like Senator Lindsey Graham, consistently retreat at the first sign of Trump’s disapproval. How long will Americans who believe in free speech and a free press go along with Trump’s intimidation of media outlets and their all-too-compliant owners? Even top universities and law firms are now bending the knee, as the White House steps up its attacks on institutional bases of opposition.
Rising to meet great challenges requires national unity – something the US has managed to achieve time and again. But that is not Trump’s way. On the contrary, he wants to cast aside those who are not his political supporters, even when they serve vital national institutions. A telling example is Washington’s John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, where he fired the board, replaced its members with loyalists, and installed himself as chair.
The stakes may become clearer to Trump’s supporters as they realize that tariff hikes are not the same as tax cuts and that, rather than lowering prices, his trade agenda is likely to trigger a recession and drive up inflation. Unless and until that happens, however, no one should expect the US to provide steady, credible leadership on the major foreign-policy challenges facing open societies around the world.
Trump, convinced that international negotiations require nothing more than the instincts of a New York real-estate developer, likes to think of himself as a master of global diplomacy. But anyone who still buys into that fantasy should take a closer look at the many mistakes he made during his first term.
Trump’s disastrous deal with the Taliban shortly before leaving office in 2021 is a prime example. The only winners of the Trump-brokered US withdrawal from Afghanistan were Taliban leaders, who were left free to reimpose their misogynistic, authoritarian rule without restraint.
Then there was Trump’s much-vaunted outreach to North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. Despite all the hype surrounding his supposed rapport with Kim – a tyrant with a Stone Age worldview – Trump left office with nothing to show for it, having made no meaningful progress on denuclearizing North Korea.
Given his underwhelming record, it’s no surprise that Trump has failed to deliver on his promise to end the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East “in 24 hours.” In the Middle East, his administration has done little more than give Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu a green light to bomb and starve Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank in an effort to persuade them to abandon their homes.
As for Ukraine, it is abundantly clear that Russian President Vladimir Putin has played Trump for a fool. Instead of defending Ukraine’s sovereignty, Trump appears more preoccupied with the political and personal benefits he might gain by handing the country to Russia on a silver platter. Fortunately, Trump’s abandonment of Ukraine appears to have galvanized European countries into taking responsibility for their own defense and protecting their values and interests, instead of relying on the US to do it for them.
Still, I find it hard to believe that America could simply stand by as Russia moves to erase Ukraine’s independence. Staying on this path would be disastrous not only for the world but for the US itself, undermining its global reputation for years to come. And yet the silence of America’s former presidents and senior officials has become deafening. One wonders whether any will speak out forcefully against Trump’s reckless policies – before the tears become a flood.
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LONDON – My mother used to say of those whose rise to fame was built on bluster rather than talent: “Mark my words. It will all end in tears.” It’s a safe bet that this will be the fate of US President Donald Trump and his sycophants. Unfortunately, the tears will not be theirs alone. America will bear the cost of their recklessness – and so, inevitably, will the rest of the world.
People who don’t live in the United States may think they are safe, but as the world’s leading superpower – and once the standard-bearer for the values that underpinned much of the progress of the past 80 years – what happens in America does not stay in America. The collective well-being and security of open societies worldwide have long depended on the wisdom and courage of US presidents, dating back to Franklin D. Roosevelt. Even Richard Nixon, for all his faults, left behind meaningful diplomatic achievements, particularly his opening to China.
While no one knows exactly when or how things will unravel, storm clouds are unmistakably gathering in Washington and beyond. A constitutional crisis (or worse) appears to be in the offing as the Trump administration undermines the rule of law – once a cornerstone of American democracy – to target its political opponents and critics.
To be sure, there are precedents for this kind of behavior – notably in Europe during the 1930s and 1940s. And if that comparison strikes you as absurd or unfair, consider Trump’s recent remarks at the Justice Department. Independent judges and law enforcement officers were described as “really bad people,” who “tried to turn America into a corrupt communist and third-world country.”
Over the past two months, Trump has been systematically dismantling the constitutional guardrails limiting executive power. Whether he succeeds largely depends on whether American are willing to live under an emerging authoritarian regime.
As Trump and his loyalists threaten to impeach judges who rule against their agenda, it falls to voters and lawmakers to defend the institutions and values that have underpinned the country’s global leadership. Legislators, in particular, face a critical choice: uphold their constitutional authority or look the other way as it is steadily eroded. Many – especially Republicans – are under enormous pressure to stay silent, owing to the threat of primary challenges, possibly bankrolled by Elon Musk.
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So far, the outlook is anything but reassuring. Alarmingly, many once-principled Republicans, like Senator Lindsey Graham, consistently retreat at the first sign of Trump’s disapproval. How long will Americans who believe in free speech and a free press go along with Trump’s intimidation of media outlets and their all-too-compliant owners? Even top universities and law firms are now bending the knee, as the White House steps up its attacks on institutional bases of opposition.
Rising to meet great challenges requires national unity – something the US has managed to achieve time and again. But that is not Trump’s way. On the contrary, he wants to cast aside those who are not his political supporters, even when they serve vital national institutions. A telling example is Washington’s John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, where he fired the board, replaced its members with loyalists, and installed himself as chair.
The stakes may become clearer to Trump’s supporters as they realize that tariff hikes are not the same as tax cuts and that, rather than lowering prices, his trade agenda is likely to trigger a recession and drive up inflation. Unless and until that happens, however, no one should expect the US to provide steady, credible leadership on the major foreign-policy challenges facing open societies around the world.
Trump, convinced that international negotiations require nothing more than the instincts of a New York real-estate developer, likes to think of himself as a master of global diplomacy. But anyone who still buys into that fantasy should take a closer look at the many mistakes he made during his first term.
Trump’s disastrous deal with the Taliban shortly before leaving office in 2021 is a prime example. The only winners of the Trump-brokered US withdrawal from Afghanistan were Taliban leaders, who were left free to reimpose their misogynistic, authoritarian rule without restraint.
Then there was Trump’s much-vaunted outreach to North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. Despite all the hype surrounding his supposed rapport with Kim – a tyrant with a Stone Age worldview – Trump left office with nothing to show for it, having made no meaningful progress on denuclearizing North Korea.
Given his underwhelming record, it’s no surprise that Trump has failed to deliver on his promise to end the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East “in 24 hours.” In the Middle East, his administration has done little more than give Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu a green light to bomb and starve Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank in an effort to persuade them to abandon their homes.
As for Ukraine, it is abundantly clear that Russian President Vladimir Putin has played Trump for a fool. Instead of defending Ukraine’s sovereignty, Trump appears more preoccupied with the political and personal benefits he might gain by handing the country to Russia on a silver platter. Fortunately, Trump’s abandonment of Ukraine appears to have galvanized European countries into taking responsibility for their own defense and protecting their values and interests, instead of relying on the US to do it for them.
Still, I find it hard to believe that America could simply stand by as Russia moves to erase Ukraine’s independence. Staying on this path would be disastrous not only for the world but for the US itself, undermining its global reputation for years to come. And yet the silence of America’s former presidents and senior officials has become deafening. One wonders whether any will speak out forcefully against Trump’s reckless policies – before the tears become a flood.