Today, America displays weakness, division, and an embarrassing demonstration of circus-like behaviour. I don’t even recognize my country any longer.
Washington, DC: It used to be the case that America displayed itself on the global stage representing power, courage, resolve, and an impenetrable bond to the values of its Constitution. Today, it displays weakness, division, and an embarrassing demonstration of circus-like behaviour. I don’t even recognize my country any longer. I know that many people around the world feel the same way. It has left me fearing for our collective future—regardless of who takes over in the White House.
We got here, in an incredibly short period of time—coinciding with Trump’s descent down that escalator in Trump Tower in 2015—not only because he masterfully and demonically stirred the experimental melting pot that we call America—but because so many Americans have failed themselves. It is one thing to send a man like Trump to the Oval Office perhaps not truly understanding his DNA. But Americans do understand that now, and half of them remain ready to send him back! The Cult of Trump is filled with people who believe in conspiracy theories (and the other manure that comes with Trumpism), too many who have failed to question what they are told, and tens of millions who are too lazy or incapable of doing the work necessary to qualify as informed voters.
Consider the absurdity of calling the American economy a failure under the Biden Administration, with a record high stock market, record low unemployment, quarter after quarter of strong growth, and remaining the envy of the world. Or, for that matter, the ridiculousness of most of what comes out of Trump’s mouth. Too many Americans form their American and world views from nothing more than sound bites on social media that commoditize hatred, idolize the sensational, and prioritize things that just don’t matter. Trump, along with about half the population of America that can only be called brain dead, have turned the country into a laughingstock.
The implications in the foreign policy arena are of course mammoth. At a time when more consequential conflicts are simmering or boiling around the world than since the collapse of the Soviet Union, we find ourselves at a crossroads. Russia, China, Iran and North Korea (the Axis of Evil) are succeeding in challenging the post-War global order by working together, while America and its allies are looking at each other wondering what comes next and what to do in response.
A Trump presidency implies a perilous journey (once again) into the unknown, but at a point in history that is far more dangerous than in 2017. All of the existing conflicts can be presumed to get worse should he assume the throne once again. America’s allies will, once again, find themselves questioning the very premise upon which their relationship with America is based, wondering if their contractual agreements with the American government are worth the paper they are printed on.
A Harris presidency is also a bit of a leap into the unknown. Her foreign policy chops are largely undefined, but it can certainly be argued that she is more likely to follow the Biden playbook and less likely to lead America and the world further into the abyss. The worst that can probably be said with some certainty is that, like so many others who preceded her, she will learn by doing, on the job, just as she has as vice president. Her credo can be summarized as do no harm.
To me, the choice before the American people boils down to selecting good over evil. Depending on what side of the coin a voter is oriented to, each candidate can be characterized as either good versus evil. But most of the rest of the world’s people and governments aren’t so conflicted; they see Trump as the personification of evil and Harris, like Biden before her, as the only one standing between them and pending disaster.
Long gone is the Ozzy and Harriet version of America. But it was less than a decade ago when America and the world were not standing on their heads trying to balance themselves, wondering how they got here, and yearning for a more peaceful, simpler time. The era of bipartisanship, collaboration, and the adoption of policies based on common sense are also long gone. Trumpism will persist long after the buffoon has finally left the political arena, but the carnage he has unleashed is destined to remain part of the American political mosaic for decades to come.
With the polls split 50/50 to this day, it could literally go either way. Many Americans are hoping that the polls are wrong, and that Harris will in the end pull off a landslide victory, but the reverse may also be true. Either way, America’s descent at home and on the global stage is undeniable and its potential implications for the world equally profound.
Daniel Wagner is CEO of Country Risk Solutions.