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Since World War II, Europe has been dependent on America—and resented that dependence. Trump's tough love approach aims to end that destructive cycle.Ukrainian President Zelensky’s self-inflicted televised Oval Office execution on February 28th marks a watershed moment in American history. A sea change in American policy and direction was revealed to millions of Americans looking on since the inauguration with a range of emotions from glee to foreboding. On that Friday, say what you want, Trump told the world in no uncertain terms that America First was not just a phrase de jour; it was now the law of the land and an end to the kind of fuzzy grey thinking that Washingtonians revel in, allowing the obscuration of…well, everything!
Zelensky—and all nations—realized that President Trump was setting down a marker that we would no longer be the world’s patsy. No matter how right the cause or how bad the suffering, America’s foreign policy will be guided by cold, brutal pragmatism—pragmatism based on self-interest regardless of international norms, treaties, winks and nods, and all the other constraints binding previous American leaders.
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This is unsettling but necessary, as we cannot be all things to all people. Even the world’s lone superpower has limitations; we must pick priorities that move us in the direction that gives us the greatest advantage. By doing so, the ultimate benefactors are not only Americans but the world as a whole as America grows stronger and more influential in an uncertain and dangerous world populated by fraudsters, would-be dictators, and manipulators.
Old loyalties must still be respected, but Trump’s words and actions implicitly imply that every family has its flaky members and that enabling them endlessly is neither productive nor likely to rectify the family members’ problems. Tough love is the order of the day. This is hard medicine for a world accustomed to living off American largess.
Zelensky walked into a trap of his own making because he failed to understand the changed dynamics from the Biden days. We are now in an era as different as the one that existed the day after dinosaurs no longer roamed the Earth. It will take some time to adapt as we measure the cost and benefits of everything we do, from the cost of government to our alliances, including whether traditional allies are still worth defending. This is a hard truth that will not come easy to many. Consequently, we are in a period of disarray as the old is swept away in a massive tactical and strategic realignment that favors logic over process and precedent.
Sometimes, we will do things for unclear reasons; other times, we do things symbolically. Trump is not trying to break up the world order as much as he is rationalizing how decisions are made and moving towards an America that can be relied upon in a predictable manner but not as freewheeling as we once were.
It is instructive and necessary to understand the depth and breadth of the changes by looking at individual pieces of the puzzle. To do that, witness the demise of USAID as the perfect example of Trump’s strategy. Perhaps the world’s largest slush fund at $44 billion, USAID was complicit in some of the worst abuses and absurdities. It’s hard or impossible to explain spending on:
- Hundreds of millions of dollars to fund irrigation canals, farming equipment, and fertilizer that ended up being used to support poppy cultivation and heroin production in Afghanistan, benefiting the Taliban.
- Hundreds of millions of dollars to fund DEI initiatives all over the world.
- Over the past 15 years, USAID granted more than $270 million to organizations linked to fundamentally anti-American Soros.
- USAID has provided over $1 billion to Gaza since the Hamas invasion of Israel, stealing much of that aid.
- USAID has been a conduit to various NGOs such as Catholic Relief Services, which received $4.6 billion over several years, World Vision at $3.2 billion, Save the Children at $2.8 billion, International Rescue Committee at $2.5 billion, and CARE at $2.3 billion. And the list goes on!
It must also be noted that several of the above organizations have organized immigrants attempting to enter the United States. For example, Catholic Charities and Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service provided a range of services: They’d provide pathways to get illegal immigrations into America and then give them money and services once they were here. It’s an absurd paradox that Border Patrol Agents were trying to keep illegals out while USAID was paying to get them in!
Americans are not patient and are easily distracted. Everyone understands the ground has shifted, but not exactly the course we’re on. As of yet, Trump still hasn’t articulated his foreign policy principles. He probably believes that “Make America Great Again” and “America First” explain it all, but they don’t.
Trump would serve his interests better by formally communicating with the American people about his goals and aspirations. His recent Joint Session of Congress missed an opportunity to share a cohesive strategy. Clarity would be nice to have! Having said that, Trump may feel he benefits best in foreign policy by keeping both enemies and allies guessing, providing him with greater leverage.
Author, Businessman, Thinker, and Strategist. Read more about Allan, his background, and his ideas to create a better tomorrow at www.1plus1equals2.com
