There is one way the U.S. could recover our international standing, but I'm afraid that what would be necessary for a full recovery will not happen. Because the only way I see the U.S. regaining the trust of the rest of the world is if American voters finally get a clue and return real Democratic majorities to both the House and Senate in 2026.
Then those Democrats (with maybe a few Republicans), must impeach, convict, and remove from office basically the entire Trump administration, making the new Democratic speaker of the House our next president. Who can then rejoin the Paris agreement, reassert our support for our NATO allies and Ukraine, and instantly end the stupid tariff war and the internal wars on U.S. education and science.
Then repeal every Trump EO and emergency declaration, repeal the SAVE Act, impeach Alito and Thomas for official corruption, and pass a bill with hard, enforceable ethics requirements on the Supreme Court.
Then pass legislation making the EPA, NOAA, and FEMA independent federal agencies, with senate-confirmed administrators with fixed terms who cannot be removed except for cause, and explicitly stating that no president can alter congressionally authorized spending, and limiting the circumstances in which emergencies can be declared by a president.
That would be a real start. But I won’t hold my breath.
The damage done by this administration will take decades if not generations to repair. The US can do everything you suggest and the rest of the world will ask, "What happens if the US elects an R POTUS, or Rs gain control of Congress again?".
For me, the simple question is this: Why would anyone trust the US again?
Which is why I included the impeachment of Alito and Thomas as key, assuming that they are replaced by justices who actually respect the constitution. This would allow the new SCOTUS majority to overturn a number of egregious decisions with no constitutional justification, from Citizens United to the ridiculous assertion of presidential immunity, to restoring voting rights, and prevent future rightwing dirty tricks for the near future.
But you're not wrong, it definitely will take time, trust lost takes time and actions to restore, and is never guaranteed.
RE: Alito and Thomas. I would not be surprised to see them step down in 2026 (while Rs still control the Senate) and be replaced by much younger Federal Society/ Christian Nationalist/ far right wing types.
US allies saw how the Felon treated its allies in his first administration. They know there is no dealing with one who goes back on every "deal" he's ever made and disavows every promise made by previous administrations. They know the Felon will lie, cheat anyone and steal anything to benefit himself.
Why should our allies and other countries trust us? We have a president who can't keep two sentences together, behaves erratically and changes his mind faster than the weather. We have a Secretary of Defense whose department leaks like a sieve when it comes to matters of security and confidential communications. We have a president's cabinet that is chock full of people either against the tenets of the departments that they run and/or are incompetent, and the whole stability of the government teeters on the edge of dysfunction. Congress isn't acting responsibly either. If there is a cure, it will take a change of congress and administration, and likely at least a decade of mending fences.
It goes beyond American leadership. Americans voted for Trump after they saw his first term. After he told tens-of-thousands of lies. After they saw his open grift and self-dealing. After they saw him convicted of rape. After they saw the classified documents he stole. After they watched him incite an insurrection and failed to call them off.
It's not just that the world doesn't trust Trump or Republicans. They cannot trust the American people. And well they should not.
Good analysis.i don’t trust us either.i do not think our word can be counted on.just the saying America first leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Very arrogant.no one can be first we are (or should be) in this all together.
Brilliant analysis. Two of my nephews in Germany agree 100%, especially since about 90% of the former German Democratic Republic votes for the AfD, which is akin to the US fascist party - see the Apartheid Afrikaner's endorsement of them.
That sort of statement normalizes what has happened in this new regime. I’ve been watching the slide since Reagan, but it’s wrong to represent the latest developments as part of the overall decline rather than as the step change that they are.
And, while the US was never perfect, and did plenty of reprehensible things, at their best they were also a model to emulate. They did invest in institutions and accountability. You don’t become scientific and cultural leaders without a tremendous amount of investment. Saying that the US hasn’t been a model implies that all that investment was worth nothing. Why should we strive to improve if all we do is worthless?
One thing that the US has not corrected, is the willingness to do regime change in other countries. Chile, Vietnam, Iran, and Iraq jump into my mind. If my memory were better I could make a better list.
Arrested NYC Comptroller detained, another show of force at the courthouse. It is time immigrants have virtual check-in, to avoid ICE scenes to arrest undocumented people. I feel their force (federal employees) are trying very hard to earn their bonuses.
ICE needs to have strong rules of engagement documented and enforced across the agency. Those rules had better come from Congress, because their department secretary/director is not rational enough to do it. What we effectively have is an arm of an agency running amok.
There is one way the U.S. could recover our international standing, but I'm afraid that what would be necessary for a full recovery will not happen. Because the only way I see the U.S. regaining the trust of the rest of the world is if American voters finally get a clue and return real Democratic majorities to both the House and Senate in 2026.
Then those Democrats (with maybe a few Republicans), must impeach, convict, and remove from office basically the entire Trump administration, making the new Democratic speaker of the House our next president. Who can then rejoin the Paris agreement, reassert our support for our NATO allies and Ukraine, and instantly end the stupid tariff war and the internal wars on U.S. education and science.
Then repeal every Trump EO and emergency declaration, repeal the SAVE Act, impeach Alito and Thomas for official corruption, and pass a bill with hard, enforceable ethics requirements on the Supreme Court.
Then pass legislation making the EPA, NOAA, and FEMA independent federal agencies, with senate-confirmed administrators with fixed terms who cannot be removed except for cause, and explicitly stating that no president can alter congressionally authorized spending, and limiting the circumstances in which emergencies can be declared by a president.
That would be a real start. But I won’t hold my breath.
The damage done by this administration will take decades if not generations to repair. The US can do everything you suggest and the rest of the world will ask, "What happens if the US elects an R POTUS, or Rs gain control of Congress again?".
For me, the simple question is this: Why would anyone trust the US again?
Which is why I included the impeachment of Alito and Thomas as key, assuming that they are replaced by justices who actually respect the constitution. This would allow the new SCOTUS majority to overturn a number of egregious decisions with no constitutional justification, from Citizens United to the ridiculous assertion of presidential immunity, to restoring voting rights, and prevent future rightwing dirty tricks for the near future.
But you're not wrong, it definitely will take time, trust lost takes time and actions to restore, and is never guaranteed.
RE: Alito and Thomas. I would not be surprised to see them step down in 2026 (while Rs still control the Senate) and be replaced by much younger Federal Society/ Christian Nationalist/ far right wing types.
US allies saw how the Felon treated its allies in his first administration. They know there is no dealing with one who goes back on every "deal" he's ever made and disavows every promise made by previous administrations. They know the Felon will lie, cheat anyone and steal anything to benefit himself.
Why should our allies and other countries trust us? We have a president who can't keep two sentences together, behaves erratically and changes his mind faster than the weather. We have a Secretary of Defense whose department leaks like a sieve when it comes to matters of security and confidential communications. We have a president's cabinet that is chock full of people either against the tenets of the departments that they run and/or are incompetent, and the whole stability of the government teeters on the edge of dysfunction. Congress isn't acting responsibly either. If there is a cure, it will take a change of congress and administration, and likely at least a decade of mending fences.
It goes beyond American leadership. Americans voted for Trump after they saw his first term. After he told tens-of-thousands of lies. After they saw his open grift and self-dealing. After they saw him convicted of rape. After they saw the classified documents he stole. After they watched him incite an insurrection and failed to call them off.
It's not just that the world doesn't trust Trump or Republicans. They cannot trust the American people. And well they should not.
Good analysis.i don’t trust us either.i do not think our word can be counted on.just the saying America first leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Very arrogant.no one can be first we are (or should be) in this all together.
Brilliant analysis. Two of my nephews in Germany agree 100%, especially since about 90% of the former German Democratic Republic votes for the AfD, which is akin to the US fascist party - see the Apartheid Afrikaner's endorsement of them.
I think the USA stopped being a model a long time ago, if it ever really was.
That sort of statement normalizes what has happened in this new regime. I’ve been watching the slide since Reagan, but it’s wrong to represent the latest developments as part of the overall decline rather than as the step change that they are.
And, while the US was never perfect, and did plenty of reprehensible things, at their best they were also a model to emulate. They did invest in institutions and accountability. You don’t become scientific and cultural leaders without a tremendous amount of investment. Saying that the US hasn’t been a model implies that all that investment was worth nothing. Why should we strive to improve if all we do is worthless?
In some ways I think the U.S. doesn’t trust itself. What has been happening or not happening is foreign to us right now. We’ve never been here before.
One thing that the US has not corrected, is the willingness to do regime change in other countries. Chile, Vietnam, Iran, and Iraq jump into my mind. If my memory were better I could make a better list.
Arrested NYC Comptroller detained, another show of force at the courthouse. It is time immigrants have virtual check-in, to avoid ICE scenes to arrest undocumented people. I feel their force (federal employees) are trying very hard to earn their bonuses.
ICE needs to have strong rules of engagement documented and enforced across the agency. Those rules had better come from Congress, because their department secretary/director is not rational enough to do it. What we effectively have is an arm of an agency running amok.