In “American Grand Strategy in the Age of Trump,” Hal Brands refers to how America serves as a sense of stability to the rest of the world. He states, “Since 1945, international security has rested heavily on the credibility of American commitments; U.S. officials have thus sought to demonstrate that Washington is a reliable and competent actor, one that can carry out complex tasks effectively and serve as a source of stability in a dangerous world.” Compared to that vision of American leadership, yesterday’s New York Times states, “the president barely shows up to work, ignoring the health and economic crises afflicting the nation and largely clearing his public schedule of meetings unrelated to his desperate bid to rewrite the election results. He has fixated on rewarding friends, purging the disloyal and punishing a growing list of perceived enemies that now includes Republican governors, his own attorney general and even Fox News.” This President has clearly shown the world that as long as he is in Washington, the United States is not a reliable or competent actor.
As unstable as the U.S. has felt the last 4 years, Trump has still found a way to escalate the tension of his presidency in its waning weeks. Peter Baker of The New York Times reports, “With six weeks until he leaves office, Mr. Trump remains as unpredictable and erratic as ever. He may fire Mr. Barr or others, issue a raft of pardons to protect himself and his allies or incite a confrontation overseas. Like King Lear, he may fly into further rages and find new targets for his wrath.” That sense of stability in a dangerous world that Brands refers to has seemingly escaped our current White House.
Many times during this administration I witnessed the President get right up to the line and I would tell myself ‘there’s no way he crosses that one.’ Time and time again the President gleefully proved me wrong. I will still try to remain positive, but Peter Baker reminds us, “We’re approaching the end of the play here and that’s where catastrophe always comes.”
Baker, P. (2020, December 05). Trump’s Final Days of Rage and Denial. Retrieved December 06, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/05/us/politics/trump-presidency-election-loss.html
Brands, Hal. “7. American Grand Strategy in the Age of Trump.” America Grand Strategy in the Age of Trump. Brookings Institution, 2018, pp. 153-182.