America alone
Our allies are pulling away from us. It's not clear that they'll ever come back.
When I came back from a long trip around Europe late last year, I wrote that it appeared that "the world is learning to live without us." I felt we were no longer seen as an ally by countries in Europe and beyond, and that they would soon make sure they relied on the U.S. as little as possible.
We've clearly seen this happen over the past few months. According to Gallup, only 21 percent of our NATO allies approve of our current leadership. Only 25 percent of Europeans consider the U.S. a close ally, which is a 36 percent drop from 2024. A survey conducted in February in the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain found 61 percent of respondents now see the U.S. as a significant threat.
As Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said during a speech at the World Economic Forum in January, the U.S. and its longtime allies are not going through a transition, but a "rupture." Leaders in Europe have echoed this sentiment.
"The decades of Pax Americana are largely over for us in Europe. Americans are now pursuing their own interests very, very vigorously, and the only response to this can be for us to pursue our own interests as well," German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in January.
Harvard University economist Robert Lawrence said around that time that Donald Trump's policies will "create a world without America." This was in response to the creation of a free trade agreement between the EU and South American countries, but Lawrence said this break isn't only about trade.
The EU is finding multiple ways to reduce its reliance on the U.S. That includes creating its own AI initiative, with a €200 billion investment, to reduce its dependence on American technology companies. A February Munich Security Report called out Trump's "wrecking-ball politics" and portrayed him as a "demolition man."
Defense spending in Europe rose by 21 percent last year as European countries determined they could no longer rely on America to have their backs. Leaders from many of these countries have been visiting China in recent months to seek another powerful ally to fill the vacuum America is creating. India is also getting some attention.
There are many reasons why all of this is happening. Donald Trump threatened to take Greenland. He threatened Canada. He started putting high tariffs on European exports. He's been recklessly utilizing American military power across the globe. He's repeatedly insulted our allies. I could go on. It's also worth noting, perhaps, that he's seen as someone who is declining mentally.
Recently, Trump begged our European allies to come help him deal with the mess he created in the Strait of Hormuz. They rejected his pleas. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the UK will "not be drawn into the wider war."
"We are not party to the conflict and therefore France will never take part in operations to open or liberate the Strait of Hormuz in the current context," said French President Emmanuel Macron.
Trump said he wanted America first, and he's getting America alone. This is what happens when you treat your allies like shit, it turns out. This is what happens when you signal to the world that you only care about yourself and you'll bully anyone who gets in your way.
It'd be nice to think that the U.S. could just elect a reasonable president in 2028 and go back to the way things were, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Our allies have been burned too many times. I'm sure we'll be able to partially repair these relationships if we rid ourselves of this style of politics and show we're trying to become a sane country again, but things will probably never be quite what they were.
