Trump’s first 100 days: The President trying to overturn the world order
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He began an unprecedented global war with duties and reduced the foreign assistance of the United States. He denied NATO allies and hugged Russia’s narrative of her invasion of Ukraine. He also talks about annexation of Greenland, returning the Panama Canal and turning Canada into the 51st state.
In the chaotic first 100 days, since President Donald Trump returned to office, he has undertaken a often unpredictable campaign that has overturned parts of the world order based on rules that Washington has helped to build from the ashes of World War II.
| « Trump is much more radical now than it was eight years ago, » said Elliot Abrams, a conservative who served with Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, before being appointed a US Messenger for Iran and Venezuela during Trump’s first term. « I was surprised. » |
Trump’s agenda « America first » for his second term alienated his friends and encouraged his opponents, while raising questions about how far he was ready to get. His actions, combined with this uncertainty, have been so worried that some governments that they react in ways that would be canceled, even if a more traditional US president was elected in 2028.
International law is clear: Crimea belongs to Ukraine
All this is happening against the backdrop of what the Republican president’s critics see as signs of a democratic retreat at home that have raised fears abroad. These include verbal attacks on judges, a pressure-to-university pressure campaign and the transfer of migrants to a notorious prison in Salvador as part of a wider deportation campaign.
| « What we see is a huge destabilization in world affairs, » said Dennis Ross, a former negotiator for the Middle East for the administrations of Democrats and Republicans. « No one is sure at this moment what to think about what is happening or what will follow. » |
This evaluation of the shaking of the global system of Trump comes from Reuters interviews with more than a dozen current and former government officials, foreign diplomats and independent analysts in Washington and capitals around the world.
Many say that while some of the damage already caused can be long -lasting, the situation may not be irreparable if Trump softens his approach. He has already given up on some issues, including the time and weight of his duties.
But they see a little likelihood of a dramatic change from Trump, and instead expect many countries to make lasting changes in their relations with the United States to protect themselves from his chaotic policy.
What price is ready to pay Ukraine for peace?
The consequences have already begun.
Some European allies, for example, seek to stimulate their own defense industries to reduce dependence on US weapons. The debate in South Korea to develop its own nuclear arsenal has intensified. And speculation has increased that worsening relationships could encourage US partners to get closer to China, at least economically.
The White House rejects the idea that Trump has harmed the confidence in the United States, instead indicating the need for cleaning after what he calls the « irresponsible leadership » of former President Joe Biden on the world stage.
| « President Trump takes quick action to address the challenges by attracting both Ukraine and Russia at the negotiating table to end the war between them, stops the flow of fantanyl and protects US workers by keeping China responsible, attracting the mass of negotiating, » the spoke of the spokes A statement. |
He said Trump also « causes the Hus to pay for their terrorism … and provides our southern border, which has been open to invasion for four years. »
More than half of Americans, including one in five Republicans, believe that Trump is « too close » to Russia, and the US public has a small appetite for the expansionist agenda, which he presented, according to a Reuters/IPSOS poll conducted on April 21.
High bets
The future of a global system, which has formed in the last eight decades, has been set aside in a large extent under the US rule. It is based on free trade, rule of law and respect for territorial integrity.
But in the reign of Trump, who despises multilateral organizations and often looks at global cases through the prism of a former real estate entrepreneur, this world order is shaken.
Accusing its commercial partners of « robbing » the United States for decades, Trump has introduced a wide -ranging tariff policy that shook financial markets, weakened the dollar and sparked a trade war, signs of global economic production and an increased risk of recession.
Trump has called the duties the necessary « medicine », but its goals remain unclear even until its administration is working on the negotiation of individual transactions with dozens of countries.
At the same time, it has almost changed the US policy regarding the three -year war of Russia in Ukraine and joined the oval office with Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski in late February. He has a much warmer attitude towards Moscow and has aroused fears that he will force NATO support to accept the loss in territory while he gives priority to improving relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Delivering by the Administration of Europe and NATO, a long -time major pillar of transatlantic security, but accused by Trump and his assistants in free use from the United States, has caused deep anxiety.
After winning the election in February, German Chancellor Friedrich Mertz expressed concern for European relations with the United States, saying that it would be difficult if those who put « America in the first place » actually make their motto « America alone ».
This is really « five minutes until midnight » for Europe.
Friedrich MerzCDU leader, a future chancellor of Germany
In an additional blow to Washington’s global image, Trump uses expansionist rhetoric, long avoided by modern presidents, which, according to some analysts, can be used by China as an excuse if he decides to invade the self -governing Taiwan.
- With his violent style, he insisted that the United States will « receive » Greenland, a semi -autonomous Danish island.
- He angered Canada, saying that it has almost no reason to exist and should become part of the United States.
- Threatened to seize the Panama Canal, which was handed over to Panama in 1999.
- And he suggested that Washington take control of the war -devastated gas and turn the Palestinian enclave into a Riviera -style resort.
Some analysts say Trump may seek to revive a global cold war -type structure in which great powers divide geographical spheres of influence.
However, he did not provide details of how the United States could acquire more territory, and some experts suggest that it may occupy extreme and even too risky positions as negotiation tactics.
But some countries take it seriously.
| « When you require you to take part of the territory of Denmark, when we are greeted with pressure and threats from our closest ally, what to believe in the country we admire for so many years? », Said Danish Prime Minister Met Fredericks at a press conference in Greenland in early April. « This is the world order that we have built together on both sides of the Atlantic over the generations. » |
Dealing with Trump 2.0
Other governments are also beginning to reconfigure.
The European Union, for which Trump claims without evidence that it was created to « fuck » the United States, has prepared a number of retaliatory duties if the negotiations fail.
- Some countries, such as Germany and France, are considering spending more on their military, something Trump wants, but which can also mean more investment in their own defense industry and buying fewer weapons from the United States.
- With her strained historical friendship with the United States, Canada seeks to strengthen economic and security -related relationships with Europe. This is the case against the backdrop of Canada’s national elections on Monday, dominated by the resentment of Trump’s voters, which caused a nationalist wave and fought the notions that the United States is no longer a reliable partner.
- South Korea is also shaken by Trump’s policies, including his threats to withdraw US troops. But Seoul promised to try to work with Trump and preserve the union, which he considers critically important against the threat of nuclear armed North Korea.
- The US ally Japan is also alert. She was surprised by the scale of Trump’s duties and « now struggles to answer, » said a senior Japanese government official close to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
The key question is whether some governments will quietly secure themselves by building closer trade relations with China, the main goal of Trump’s customs duties.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez met with his President Jinping in Beijing in early April, and China recently said he had exchanged opinions with the EU to strengthen economic cooperation.
Beijing presents himself as a solution to countries that feel harassed by Trump’s trade approach, despite his own experience with sometimes predatory practices internationally, and is also trying to fill the vacuum left by the abbreviations of humanitarian aid from him.
| Aaron David Miller, a former veteran in his US diplomatic career in the Republican and Democratic Administration, said it was not too late Trump to change his foreign policy course, especially if he began to feel pressure from their colleagues, who are restless for the economic risks as they seek control. |
If Trump remains relentless, the next president may try to restore Washington’s role as a guarantor of the world order, but obstacles may be huge.
« What is happening is not beyond the point of which there is no going back, » Miller said, now a senior associate at the Carnegie Fund for International Peace in Washington. « But it is probably unclear how much damage is done now to our relationship with friends and how much opponents will benefit. »
