Donald Trump’s bruising return to the White House has sent many longtime foreign allies scrambling to get their distance, and according to a new piece from The Atlantic, that distance will last long after Trump is gone.
Trump’s second term as president has been marked by notable and widespread disrespect toward nations once seen as close U.S. allies. Between his attempts to level massive tariffs against nearly every nation in the world and his frequent breaches of diplomatic norms, Trump has created a hostile global environment in which allies no longer feel safe trusting in the stability of the U.S.
In a new piece for The Atlantic on Tuesday, staff writer Vivian Salama argued that this new dynamic, in which the nations of the world are working to establish a safe distance from the U.S., is bound to become the new normal for years to come, even after Trump leaves office and is potentially replaced by a more traditional, dependable administration.
There was ample reason to do this. After WWII, Europe’s industrial base had been completely destroyed and its wealth had been plundered. Western Europe couldn’t recover without the US.
Then during the sixtees and seventees, the national industries of Western European states simply couldn’t compete in the arms race with the US and USSR because of the limited scale of their industries and the lack of key industrial capabilities.
The only real exception is France. But until late in the 20th France was a colonial power. And you could argue that France is still being bankrolled only now its EU that’s paying the bills.