At the World Economic Forum in Davos, the discussion on the lips of many capital leaders was the future of the present world order. While European capitals are at the forefront of the discussion because of Greenland, other nations are questioning its future as well. The most obvious reason for this concern is what many countries consider to be the irrational behavior of the American president.
His long, meandering diatribe at Davos has put the idea of a man suffering from cognitive decline front and center. When asked by the New York Times, if anything can limit his global power, Trump responded “Yeah, there is one thing. My own morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me.” Trump is a lame duck, yet comments like these while clearly hyperbolic are nonetheless troubling. His dismissal of British troops in Afghanistan was void of historical accuracy as he said “You know, they’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan or this or that, and they did. They stayed a little back, little off the front lines. ” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer responded to this historically inaccurate statement by saying, “I consider President Trump’s remarks to be insulting and appalling.” Gret Britain lost over 400 soldiers while 2000 were wounded.
His animosity towards Europe, with the exception of Great Britain and Scotland, has put Europe on a course of decoupling from the US. While it is presently inconceivable that Europe will be autarkic as it pertains to the United States, twenty years from now it will be a distinct possibility. NATO’s Mark Rutte’s comments that Europe can’t defend itself without the United States is probably an accurate statement in the present but it is also true that America needs Europe as well from a defensive and economic perspective.
While European capitals breathed a sigh of relief that Trump pulled back his threat to invade Greenland, the more accurate response might have been an acknowledgement of European power and influence. While it is not as militarily strong as the US, it nonetheless, has a standing military of 1.6 million soldiers, which is actually larger than the US, which stands at 1.3 million(not including national guard). This is not to say that Europe would win, but rather that it could inflict a lot of damage on the US should it attempt to attack a member NATO member. It is conceivable that nations, similar to Canada, are creating defense models in the event that the US threatens another NATO nation.
Europe is coming to understand that its twenty trillion-dollar economy is as important as America’s thirty trillion-dollar economy. Even now nations are determining what goods can they do without. Germany has amended its constitution so that it can build its military. Across Europe, leaders are strategizing about how to become independent of America. Even in Denmark people are subscribing to an app that informs them of America made goods, so they won’t buy them.
American arrogance will not acknowledge that Europe along with other nations such as China could stand up to the United States. Perhaps Ian Bremmer is right when he says, “Donald Trump is making China great again.”
While Trump is a lame duck president, many nations have concluded that America can no longer be trusted.
Despite Arthur Herman’s Wall Street Journal op-ed, “America is the sole superpower again,” the United States is quite possibly in the midst of its last gasp of power. While comparisons with the Roman Empire are overdone, where the comparison fits is the fact that the Roman republic ended before the Roman Empire. America may be on the verge of losing its republic. Unfortunately, a large segment of the American public is oblivious to this possibility and in fact might even welcome it.
Nonetheless, an even larger segment of the population has organized and is fighting back as they should. Benjamin Franklin when asked by Elizabeth Powel “well Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy” replied “A republic, if you can keep it. ” America has always had its enemies, who would have thought it would work so hard to make enemies out of its closest allies.