The Return of the Ugly American

Diplomacy Disaster

As an American in Britain, my international colleagues ask me how they can even begin to understand President Donald Trump’s threats to neighbouring and allied countries like Canada, Mexico, Denmark, Greenland, …. How could he so obviously mimic Putin’s threats to the US, UK, and other nations of Central Europe and the West, following his illegal, unprovoked, and brutal invasion of Ukraine? How could he blindside Ukraine and Europe and his own ambassador to Ukraine in establishing terms for a ceasefire in Ukraine in a phone call with Putin?

His self-proclaimed ‘art of the deal’ rides roughshod over the art and practice of international diplomacy. His actions trigger images of major failures in international diplomacy in Southeast Asia the 1950s that inspired the 1963 film ‘The Ugly American’. Today they are global.

It was unbelievable to hear an American President suggesting he could consider a miliary operation to take control of Greenland – and in the same speech imply that he would use force to retake the Panama Canal, use tariffs to force Canada to become a US state, and rename the Gulf of Mexico – which he thinks he did with an executive order – to the Gulf of the United States. If he truly believes that might makes right – perhaps the only justification for these threats, then Americans are clearly strapped with a rogue president.

And in dramatic contradiction of his art of the deal transactions, in a 90-minute phone call, he gave up a litany of key issues in bargaining with Putin, such as eventual membership in NATO, even before anyone sat down at a negotiating table. Apparently, he wanted to meet his self-imposed promise to stop the war on day one. Alternatively, he may care less about the resolution of the war than making a deal for rare minerals in Ukraine when the war is over. This is pure colonialist, American imperialism.

Many Americans have become accustomed to Trump saying whatever comes to his mind, well before he has time to think it through or consult with others who are knowledgeable about the issues. Some Americans say they like this trait of Trump - telling the public exactly what he is thinking. But that is terrible diplomacy. He is losing trust in his word and in America across the world. And he has only been in office for weeks, not years.

There are major problems with this approach – let me note a few:

First, as the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, said of Trump’s comments on Greenland, they were ‘incomprehensible”. His flurries of incomprehensible, unbelievable statements, tend to sow uncertainty and doubt over what he means. His competence to be in the Office of President comes into question, if not by the Republic Party, certainly by experienced diplomats and world leaders.

Secondly, the President of the United States is not only the Chief Executive. He is also the Head of State, the symbolic representative of the values and character of the country – comparable to the symbolic role of the monarch in a constitutional monarchy like Britain.[1] Of course, Americans do not trust politicians or the government as much as do most Europeans. In fact, many Americans like to hear Trump insult his critics and anyone he perceives to be an obstacle to his goals – whether they be an election victory or simply the power to get his own way. In contrast, many Europeans see his actions as mean-spirited and childish. “THIS is your President?” In such ways, the President’s lack of diplomacy, statesmanship, and good judgement undermine the status of the nation. As an increasing number of pundits are saying, he is undermining America’s ‘soft power’ – the nation’s ability to influence others without coercing through hard power threats.[2]

Thirdly, many of his threats are clear violations of international rules of order – principles of international law as well as well-known norms for how nations should behave. Violating these rules are not only an insult to other nations but a serious risk to the lives of people across the world. Putin’s illegal, unprovoked, and brutal invasion of Ukraine is one clear example of such a violation of international norms – making Putin a pariah to liberal democratic nations of the West. Visiting Putin in Russia, as Trump proposes, negates or dismisses Putin’s status as a war criminal.

If I question the rationality of Trump’s actions, his supporters typically say that he will not do as he says, he will not carry out his threats. They are only negotiating positions, not real threats. Giving away all of Ukraine’s key negotiating positions in his phone call to Putin belies this rationale.

Finally, it is possible to interpret Trump as appealing to American isolationism. It’s a big country with most of the public focused on domestic concerns and not even interested in international issues or even international travel. Moreover, some argue that the world is becoming less globally connected as geopolitical politics seems to be segmenting the world. However, even if geopolitics is rising, the world is continuing to be ever more global. Commerce, trade, services, and media are increasingly global. Trump’s 90-minute phone call was heard round the world within minutes. American isolationism is a myth, but one that has a negative influence on international diplomacy and relations.

Is there any hope? Are we headed for an ever more polarized country and world? Clearly, Trump 1.0 was all bluster. Trump 2.0 is going beyond bluster, such as in his raft of Executive Orders during his first days in office – many of which have serious real-world implications.

We can only trust in the separation of powers and the pluralist distribution of power across the US and the wider world to look for people with the power to prevent this dangerous president from exacerbating problems across the world. Americans need to protect the US Constitution in the first instance and not let the President undermine the courts, the Senate, and House of Representatives, as well as the entire administrative system that implements public policies – which he brands as the deep state. Likewise, the growing collusion of economic elites, like Musk and other tech billionaires, with the Office of the President is also dangerous. It is not cute or laughable. It is a greater concentration of power that endangers a pluralist democracy.

At the end of the day, we need to rely on public opinion shifting in response to the blunders of his administrative appointments and orders. Please consider these issues seriously. Talking, writing, and blogging about Trump’s rogue presidency is something you can do for your country.

Notes

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[1] Bagehot, W. (1867), English Constitution, 2^nd Edition.

[2] Joseph Nye (2017), ‘Soft Power’, Palgrave Communications, 3, No. 17008.