The Perils and the Price of "Trusting Trump"

The American electorate, especially the MAGA followers and devotees, are not quite as stupid as their actions in electing Trump might suggest. First, it must be understood that more eligible voters chose not to vote than actually votes for Trump. But those who did vote for and still support Trump were given a target and focus for their anger and hate, which motivated and bound them to his cause more tightly than any rational assessment of their own self-interest. In short, they placed their trust in Trump. The more educated and intelligent voters did not follow that lead, and many professional politicians initially noted publicly that the election of Trump would be a mistake, and possibly a disaster. They neither agreed with his hyperbolic claims nor trusted that he could fulfill his promises. Yet these knowledgeable politicians caved in and switched allegiance, either because of weak character or fear of political retribution from the well-heeled Trumpian juggernaut that had captured the GOP.

It does not take professional experience or genius to figure out that the driving force of Trump policies and disruptive actions have nothing to do with government efficiency or improvement of the economy for average Americans. The driving force is his narcissism and egocentric megalomania. Regardless of impact, regardless of who is harmed, each of his actions is designed to force others to kneel to his whims and do his bidding, or fact retribution. It really is that simple.

The disruption [destruction?] of global alliances took only 2 months, and now former allies have stated publicly that the US can no longer be trusted or relied upon as an ally. Free trade relationships and mutually beneficial commerce agreements have torn up and been tossed aside, with negative repercussions for American consumers of inflation, stagflation, and possibly a recession. Yet the only discernible "gain" to be achieved from such actions is that world leaders will be obliged to send envoys to Washington, DC to "talk" with Trump. Given what we have seen so far, there is no assurance, consistency, or predictability as to what demands Trump may make in exchange for relief from his threats. And there is no assurance that he will not renege on any purported "agreement" a week or a month later. He behaves like a petty tyrant, a spoiled child.

There are, however, positive signs arising from recognition that Trump and, because he currently is its voice, the United States cannot be trusted. European nations to which Trump has issued demands for more expenditures for military and security are seriously looking at suppliers other than the US for weapons systems. The EU wants to break its security dependency on the US and buy more European weapons | AP News Not only are US weapons of questionable "superiority," but Trump's actions call into question reliability of delivery and longer-term maintenance commitments for such systems. Australia and other nations, as indicated by this article, are exploring other suppliers, customers and trading relationships. Australia seeks alternative partners for beef. beef-industry-figures-reveal-why-the-us-just-shot-itself-in-the-foot/ar-AA1CbR3W This is a perfectly sensible response when a former trading partner has attacked and betrayed former trade and security relationships.

Trump's ego suggests to him that, despite acknowledgement of near-term pain and suffering his actions inflict, that "in the long run" the adversaries that he is creating will bend to his will. As Sen. Kennedy [R-LA] stated: "In the long run, we’re all dead. The short-run matters too. I don’t care what the experts say. We do not know yet the impact of these [tariffs]. … We just don’t know, and anybody who tells you otherwise that says they know has been smoking the devil’s lettuce.”

The more likely outcome is that rational nations and companies will choose strategies and implement them over time that reduce risk and do not rely upon the United States. They will seek out and develop alternative investments and trade relations that meet their needs and do not depend upon the "good faith and integrity" of America that has been the foundation for international relationships for decades.

The curious and fragile nature of "trust" is that it is far easier to destroy than it is to build. Once broken, it is doubly hard to re-establish. The United States has had egotistical presidents in the past, Nixon and LBJ were noteworthy for their pride and sometimes abusive use of authority, but they were reasonably competent and respected the Constitution. [Nixon resigned upon Constitutional impeachment.] And the nation has had presidents of marginal competence, as in the case of George W. Bush, who could be manipulated to abuse authority. But at no time in the history of the nation has a president displayed the combination of narcissism and hubris, combined with ignorance and incompetence [including his closest officials and advisors] that enabled him to wreak as much havoc and destroy international and domestic trust in the national government in so short a time as Trump has done. And the chaos continues while Trump rants and raves on Truth Social over any and every perceived slight or criticism.

The extent of the damage will not be fully appreciated for some time. The period of recovery, if ever, from his hubris and erratic ravaging will take years. And, like trust, the time required to rebuild the economy and international relations will doubtless take far longer than the time it takes Trump to destroy.