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After Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election, “sighs of relief rippled through capitals" around the world. NBC News chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel reported at the time that many abroad reacted as if “the United States had overthrown a dictator, that democracy has been saved, that America’s reputation had been saved.”
Four years later, it was no secret that many of the United States’ leading allies, most notably in Europe, were desperate to see Donald Trump lose. After his victory, the anguish abroad was nearly as overwhelming as it was in Democratic households from coast to coast.
One of Germany’s leading news magazines ran a cover with a single-word headline under a picture of the Republican. “F---,” it read. (The original actually spelled out the word.)
It’s worth taking a moment to understand why.
The problem isn’t just Trump’s proposed tariffs. Or his buffoonery. Or his erratic tendencies. Or his corruption. Or his willingness to engage in legally dubious abuses. Or the degree to which his reactionary, fascist-like tendencies are offensive to global democracies. Or the awkwardness that will come with Trump coming face to face with international leaders who trashed him after he left the White House, assuming his career couldn’t possibly recover from his first-term failures and alleged crimes.
The more serious problem is that they’re not sure whose side he’ll be on during a second term.
The Wall Street Journal highlighted the fact that America’s rivals “are coalescing into a new global authoritarian axis.”
Russia has now enlisted North Korea into its nearly three-year war in Ukraine, where it is making slow but steady advances. ... China is giving crucial economic and political support to the cooperation among Moscow, Pyongyang and Tehran — while strengthening its own military for a possible war over Taiwan.
At face value, the emergence of this “axis” is unsettling, but more alarming still is the question of whether Trump sees its members as adversaries or like-minded partners.
Ahead of the American elections, for example, Trump described the United States’ international adversaries as “so-called enemies” and countries that “might not be enemies.” Around the same time, the Republican publicly trashed our South Korean allies, EU allies and Ukrainian allies — while pointing to Hungary’s Viktor Orbán and his “strongman” style as some kind of international model worthy of emulation.
A few months earlier, Trump said, “Our allies are the worst.” A months later, he added, “They’re allies, but not when we need them. They’re only allies when they need something.”
Earlier in the year — in the midst of the GOP presidential primaries — Trump also said he was prepared to “encourage” Russia “to do whatever the hell they want” to NATO members that did not spend enough on defense.
And did I mention that Trump has reportedly had several undisclosed chats with Putin since leaving the White House? And that the Republican didn’t exactly deny that the conversations took place?
As for why Americans should care, a world in which the United States weakens the NATO alliance and sides authoritarian and dictatorial regimes abroad effectively represents a potential collapse of the post-WWII global order, creating global instability, unpredictability, and security threats.
In recent generations, Americans have rarely prioritized foreign policy when making decisions at the ballot box. In 2024, many might come to regret their indifference.