The End of the American Era

In less than 100 days, President Donald Trump has destroyed relationships that have existed for 250 years. The list of alienated friends is growing, with potentially dangerous consequences for the United States. And the recent and shocking failure of the country’s entire national security leadership to protect deeply sensitive information about an attack, seeds further reasons to distrust a long-trusted voice.

Recently, President Emmanuel Macron pronounced that the U.S. under Trump is no longer an ally. France was considered to be America’s first ally and to lose its support in 2025 is symbolic of America’s loss of stature on a global basis.

America’s global alliance, developed since its founding but significantly since World War II, was built on a multinational series of organizations and relationships, which brought the world to a period of great (arguably its greatest) prosperity and a significant era of peace ( though not without significant regional conflicts), détente, and global cooperation.

Multinational organizations like the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the World Health Organization, and similar entities, led to the resolution of crises with a foundation designed to lead to greater global commerce, health, and prosperity. The Bretton Woods Agreements, which laid the foundation for the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, were designed to systemize international support to countries in financial distress and promote economic sustainability and development.

The NATO Alliance consists of 32 countries and as a united force, until 2025, arguably represents the strongest military alliance in world history. In addition, the U.S. maintains major non-NATO military alliances with not less than 20 other countries for a truly global reach.

The military stature of the United States had been enhanced by its extensive soft power activities. Those have included support significantly, but not entirely, through USAID, which has provided critical health care, including disease control, famine relief, agricultural training and enhancement, and training in democracy and judicial independence. The work of USAID has contained disease outbreaks, mitigated famine, and provided critical support to people in need around the world.

It is hard to predict the number of potential conflicts, epidemics, famines, and refugee crises that the work of the U.S. aid efforts have prevented or helped limit. The support and cooperation with international entities have also sent another critical signal to the world and that is one of empathy. The message is that the United States of America is not just a military power. It is a country that understands that peace and prosperity on a global basis is a foundation for peace and prosperity at home.

Accordingly, an investment in the defense of Ukraine is an investment that the U.S. will not become involved in a far more expensive war in Europe. In addition to the dollar cost, the Ukrainians have borne the human costs, whereas a broader European war is likely to require a major commitment of U.S. and international troops. It is distressing and downright embarrassing to watch the U.S. president, who is well known for his lack of commitment to the truth, breach the United States' commitment to the president of Ukraine. It is a clear signal to the rest of the world that the promise of the U.S. may no longer be counted on and from here on out, you are now on your own.

That signal reduced the U.S. from the preeminent global power to a second-tier superpower on par with China and Russia. The European Union, along with, hopefully, the United Kingdom have now become principal advocates of freedom in the world. This creates a much weaker alliance than the united North American, European, Eastern Pacific, Australian, and New Zealand nations that, when necessary, could previously speak with one voice.

Trump is unable to offer an explanation as to why he believes the U.S. is stronger without such allies. Nor has he articulated why he believes that the U.S. and/or the world are better off in an alliance with Russia and North Korea than with NATO and the EU. In contrast, in his short tenure, President Trump has destroyed historical relationships by threatening to use U.S. military forces against Canada and Mexico, withdraw support from Ukraine, dismantle NATO, turn Gaza into a gambling resort, and impose unwarranted tariffs on much of the rest of the world.

The nature of integrity is that once it is lost, it is nearly impossible to recover. The ignorant shortsightedness of the new administration to foreign policy has made it clear that the U.S. is no longer a reliable partner. Vladimir Putin has made it clear that his government will not tolerate dissent, a free press, or democracy. Putin’s imprisonment of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and the assassinations of Boris Nemtsov and Alexei Navalny have made it clear that his style of leadership leans more toward the ruling of Joseph Stalin than any 21st century democracy. Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is his rawest attempt to begin the long process of reconfiguring a superpower along the lines of the USSR.

President Trump has adopted many of Stalin’s/Putin’s tendencies, rounding up people without regard to their guilt, innocence, or rights to due process and seeking to use governmental authority to financially harm law firms, universities, nonprofit organizations, and media companies who fail to display fealty at all times. His actions reflect a more totalitarian approach to leadership in the U.S. and abroad that eclipses the light on global democracy and extinguishes a flame that may never shine as brightly again.

Walter H. White, Jr. is a member of the board of Lawyers Defending American Democrac y, a past chair of the ABA Center for Human Rights, and a former Managing Director of the Moscow office of a major Washington D.C. law firm.