Mind you, openly defying the ICC (and thus subverting the idea of a rules-based world order) and breaking the WTO are much older than the Trump administration. Randomly fucking with foreign countries has been going on ever since the USA had the ability to project power.
The USA have been a bad friend for a long time. They had a bit of a redemption in the 40s but just kept coasting on that one moment (and fear of a belligerent neighbor), assuming that their popularity comes from them being inherently awesome and always right. The luster was already rubbing off in the 2000s with Bush’s bullshit wars.
But now Trump is openly showing that the States feel entitled to whatever they want, are simultaneously subservient to much smaller foreign powers, and have zero respect for human rights, long-time friends, the values they supposedly stand for, and themselves. The belligerent neighbor they’ve been using to prop up their image is a broken man now and they kiss his feet.
Uncle Sam is not just a bad friend, he’s a washed-up unstable asshole whom nobody in the friend group actually likes but who keeps showing up and threatening people if he’s not included.
Mind you, openly defying the ICC (and thus subverting the idea of a rules-based world order) and breaking the WTO are much older than the Trump administration. Randomly fucking with foreign countries has been going on ever since the USA had the ability to project power.
The USA have been a bad friend for a long time. They had a bit of a redemption in the 40s but just kept coasting on that one moment (and fear of a belligerent neighbor), assuming that their popularity comes from them being inherently awesome and always right. The luster was already rubbing off in the 2000s with Bush’s bullshit wars.
But now Trump is openly showing that the States feel entitled to whatever they want, are simultaneously subservient to much smaller foreign powers, and have zero respect for human rights, long-time friends, the values they supposedly stand for, and themselves. The belligerent neighbor they’ve been using to prop up their image is a broken man now and they kiss his feet.
Uncle Sam is not just a bad friend, he’s a washed-up unstable asshole whom nobody in the friend group actually likes but who keeps showing up and threatening people if he’s not included.