Washington Foreign leaders would be better off as America’s enemy than its ally, if they have learnt anything from Donald Trump’s presidency.
Trump has so far insulted Canada, pushed Denmark over Greenland’s future, intimidated Colombia into returning undocumented immigrants on his terms, and threatened to take the famous canal from Panama, which is a source of immense pride for the country.
To varied degrees, they are all partners or allies of the United States. According to the State Department’s own website, Panama is a democratic partner that collaborates with the US to further shared objectives.
Reports promoting a counternarcotics plan the two nations had developed, or at least had under Joe Biden’s administration, were posted on the website of the U.S. Embassy in Colombia. The website’s online pages are no longer accessible.
In addition to fighting alongside the United States in Afghanistan, Canada provided food and shelter to stranded travelers who were unable to land following the events of September 11, 2001. Trump stated on Sunday that Canada is so dependent on U.S. subsidies that it is unable to function independently after imposing a 25% tariff on the country. He stated on his social media channel that it ought to become the 51st state.
Separately, Trump slapped a 10% duty on goods from China, America’s most formidable international foe, and put a 25% tariff on Mexico, another neighbor and ally of the United States.
Leslie Vinjamuri, director of the U.S. and the Americas program at Chatham House, a London-based research group, said he is cracking down much harder on smaller states with which the United States has excellent connections. In Latin America, Colombia is one of the United States’ most powerful allies. Mexico and Canada are also close allies. They aren’t enemies. You don’t even need to swing the bat like he is. America has the advantage already.
It would appear that Trump is taking a low-risk approach by adopting a harsh attitude with smaller, mostly pro-American nations. Nobody wishes to provoke a superpower. None of them have nuclear missiles pointed at American cities, either.
However, national security experts and former officials warn that Trump’s diplomatic approach has drawbacks. Countries might reconsider their relations with the US and welcome China, a willing suitor with billions to invest.
An anonymous former national security officer from the Biden administration stated, “Colombia is one of a couple of dozen countries with important strategic relations with the U.S. that are increasingly hedging in their relations with China and Russia.” They will see from this that the United States is the type of partner that pulls this s—. As a result, Colombia will open its doors to strategic rivals of the United States, who don’t trust the United States, and will say yes and kiss Trump’s ass in its public messaging.”
Americans, according to Trump’s supporters, want a strong leader who will not allow the nation to fall apart.
He promised Americans a golden age, and he might depart office with a significant legacy if he can increase the nation’s global power, increase wealth, and secure greater cooperation in fortifying the borders.
Richard Goldberg, a member of the White House National Security Council during Trump’s first term, stated that you must eventually show your enemies and allies who exploit and take advantage of you that those times [are] over and that the American superpower has returned.
Trump’s actions were justified by Vice President JD Vance.X on Sunday.
“Save me from the heartbreaking tale of Canada being our ‘best friend,'” Vance wrote. I have a lot of Canadian pals and I adore Canada. However, is the government spending enough on the military to reach its NATO target? Are they preventing drugs from entering our nation? I’ve had enough of being exploited.
That argument has the drawback of potentially inciting animosity on a worldwide scale.
In defiance of the threat to take the canal, NBC News recently reported that Panamanians were flying the national flag.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was visiting the nation for the first time, met with President Raul Mulino of Panama over the weekend.
According to a State Department spokesperson, Rubio informed the Panamanian leader that Trump is worried about Chinese control over the canal.
Following their conversation, Mulino told reporters that he perceived no genuine threat to the [Panama Canal] treaty’s legitimacy and that the discussions were civil and constructive, according to the Associated Press.
Mulino also announced that his nation would terminate an agreement with China to participate in its infrastructure scheme, known as the Belt and Road, which White House national security advisor Mike Waltz described as a positive step.
According to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in the last year of Biden’s presidency, most of the 34 countries examined had positive opinions of the US. In contrast, Pew Research Center reported in 2021 that “throughout Donald Trump s presidency, publics around the world held the United States in low regard, with most opposed to his foreign policies.”
Arturo Sarukhan, a former Mexican ambassador to the United States, stated, “Look, there’s a problem with that [Trump’s] approach, which is that you have a significant number of countries that have deepened and widened their relations with China over the past decade and a half.” Therefore, many of these nations will be more embraced by China as a result of this kind of Frank Sinatra philosophy.
According to early indications, China wants to take advantage of any diplomatic rifts.
According to a U.S. source, the Panamanian government has turned down Chinese officials’ requests for a meeting. However, the person claimed that Panama changed its mind and consented to meet with the Chinese after Trump threatened to seize the canal.
China’s envoy to Colombia issued a statement on January 26, just hours after Trump threatened to impose tariffs, a travel ban, and other punishment on Colombia unless it welcomed its deported American citizens.
China and Colombia were having the best time in their more than 40 years of diplomatic ties, according to a Spanish-language article by Zhu Jingyang.
In an interview, Ryan Berg, head of the Americas program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, stated, “You have the Chinese ambassador attempting to exploit you in the short term.”
Trump may have been attempting to send a message to nations other than Colombia by adopting a tough stance: Leaders must repatriate their citizens who are unlawfully in the United States.
However, it’s unclear if the controversy with Colombia was required. Gustavo Petro, the president of Colombia, had protested the Trump administration’s practice of returning citizens aboard military aircraft, arguing that they shouldn’t be treated like criminals.
up the end, Petroultimate gave up, preventing a devastating trade war with the United States.
However, the former Biden national security officer stated that the United States was already repatriating Colombians to their homeland under the Biden administration.
According to the source, our administration arranged for 100–200 planes for Colombians to return to their homeland. That is nothing new. That’s what we repeatedly did. The difference is that Trump intended to use military aircraft for this. At first, Colombia rejected that. They will now board the flights. It makes no difference whether the flights are military or commercial in terms of restricting migration.
Foreign Relations Committee member Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., called the dispute with Colombia a day of phony drama.
The media pretended that Colombia had given up. It didn’t,” Murphy went on to say. “Before the incident, there were three flights per week; now, there are three flights per week,” he stated. Without making any changes to anything, he [Trump] made fantastic news for himself.