How Trump Destroyed our Credibility Across the World
Donald Trump was elected on a platform of nationalism and xenophobia, spouting hate towards anyone who is not a white heterosexual male, all while amplifying the message “America First.” His slogan sends the world a clear message: the United States only cares about itself and unilateralism is making a striking return.
Subsequently, the United States has lost its credibility. Donald Trump viciously attacks the press and seemingly threatens a different civil liberty every day, whether it’s gassing protesters for a photo op, or making it legal to discriminate for “religious reasons.” He has filled his administration with a cohort of individuals who have no experience in anything but being on the wrong side of history.
The supposed moral high ground of our democracy has been exploited by Secretaries of State for decades in order to advance U.S. interests across the world. The United States is supposed to be an example of how a democracy can lead, not an exception to justify tyranny. The reputation of the United States disappears shred by shred every day that Donald Trump holds the Oval Office hostage.
How can we promote “American ideals” abroad when they’re threatened domestically by the man with the nuclear codes? How can we strive to lessen Chinese influence in Africa when the President of the United States calls the continent a sh*thole? How can we reprimand Iran for human rights abuses when our commander in chief locks children in cages? How can we encourage peace in the Middle East while cozying up to Saudi Arabia and selling them grotesque amounts of weapons? How?
The world is astonished by the flaming pile of garbage that our Executive Branch has become. From Trudeau, Johnson, and Macron at the G7, to Japan’s first lady pretending not to speak English to avoid conversing with him, and to Vladamir Putin joking about tampering with the 2020 election. Donald Trump is a global laughing stock. However, he is so much more. Donald Trump is the greatest threat to global stability we’ve seen in decades.
Angela Merkel called for Europe to stop relying on U.S. protection because Trump has shown the world that he places his ego above all else. As virtually every country on the face of the Earth makes efforts to combat climate change, Donald Trump undermines its very existence, calling it a “hoax” and sharing half-baked conspiracy theories.
His administration abandoned our alliance with the Kurds, a people who fought off the Islamic State on our behalf. Donald Trump enabled an increasingly authoritarian Turkey to slaughter an entire ethnic group with impunity and annex their homeland, rattling the international community, as well as top Pentagon officials. But fear not, Trump has an explanation. Apparently, because the Kurds “didn’t help” at Normandy, their annihilation is A-OK. What a beautiful testament to American values.
Cozying up to one authoritarian leader failed to quench Trump’s thirst, so he has made many “friends” who aren’t fans of democracy. The President of the United States is penpals with Kim Jong Un, a murderous dictator who constantly threatens nuclear annihilation. To be fair, both men share a love for locking innocent people up in cages. What a fun conversation starter!
Yet, arguably the most devastating alliance Donald Trump has made is with Saudi Arabia and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. In recent decades, every American President, including Barack Obama, is guilty of developing an unhealthily close partnership with Saudi Arabia, regardless of their rejection of democracy.
No President, Democrat or Republican, is innocent, but none have been as reckless as Donald Trump. He showed the world that the United States will overlook abuses of human rights in exchange for a hefty check.
Following the butchering of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, the President refused Congress’s demand for a report and stood behind the Crown Prince despite CIA analysis indicating a Saudi government led plot to murder a political dissident. Furthermore, Trump has failed to address the bombing of school buses and hospitals in Yemen perpetrated by the Saudi Arabian government, using American weapons.
Instead of holding a violent and authoritarian regime accountable, Donald Trump ignored these glaring red flags and fast-tracked an eight billion-dollar arms deal with Saudi Arabia. What does it say about the United States that we’re willing to sell bombs to a country that will commit war crimes? Sounds reminiscent of Russia’s support of Bashar Al-Assad, no?
The current administration was propped up by one of our greatest global competitors. Russia succeeded in tarnishing our image by putting an egomaniac in the Oval Office. As a result, we don’t have the moral high ground that made us a global superpower anymore.
This November, we have the opportunity to vote for an end to the madness, the chance to repair our mistakes. A vote for Donald Trump is a vote for the annihilation of the United State’s place in a changing world. A vote for Joe Biden is a vote for global stability.
