Behind every handshake is a nation plotting its exit strategy from the American empire.
Donald Trump says he's cutting deals again. Fox News headlines trumpet trade talks with Taiwan, gestures from India, and "quiet interest" from a dozen other nations. His team calls it a triumph, a strategic masterstroke, leverage in action. But no one with a functioning memory or a map believes this is real. It's not leadership. It's damage mitigation. The United States is not being courted—it's being managed.
The trust is gone.
It's gone in Brussels, where EU leaders are scrambling to unify against a fresh wave of tariffs that landed like a punch to the gut. It's gone in Tokyo, in Ottawa, in Berlin, where allies know the playbook now: flatter Trump or face the consequences. It's gone in the global markets, where $6 trillion evaporated in 48 hours. What remains is a hollowed-out framework where America used to stand. Agreements are made, yes. But every signature is accompanied by an unspoken caveat: this will not last.
The world learned in Trump's first term that American commitments are optional. Treaties are disposable. Diplomats are liabilities. Multilateralism is a weakness. He taught foreign leaders that engagement with the United States comes with a catch—and it will snap shut the moment it stops serving his personal narrative. The lesson stuck. This time around, no one is fooled.
When Trump announces a new deal, it's not a signal of strength. It's a flare from a flailing empire. These are deals made under duress, made in the shadow of coercion, instability, and a broken global order. And everyone signing them is doing so with their hands tied and their escape plans drafted. None of these governments believes Trump will keep his word. How could they? The man broke every commitment he ever touched.
The Iran deal. The Paris Agreement. NATO cooperation. WTO norms. Trade deals with Mexico, Canada, and China. He walked away from each of them. Because chaos creates attention, and attention is the only currency he respects.
The United States, meanwhile, is spinning. Volatility is no longer a phase. It is the norm. Investors are bracing for a whiplash economy where policy pivots on mood swings. Allies are preparing for retaliation cycles. Enemies are exploiting the vacuum. Trump brags about getting countries to the table. But a meeting is not respect. A press conference is not a partnership. These aren't alliances. These are standoffs with better lighting.
The core problem is not that Trump lies. Everyone in power lies. The problem is that his lies are the policy. They are not deviations—they are the plan. His statecraft is theater. His negotiation tactic is a threat. His diplomacy is extortion. And the rest of the world is reacting accordingly.
Trump will keep cutting deals. Taiwan is offering zero tariffs. India is signaling openness. Trump claims that fifty countries are ready to answer the call. But these aren't victories. These are contingency plans from governments preparing for collapse. They are hedges against a partner they cannot predict, reason with, or rely on.
No one is betting on American stability anymore. Not after 2016. Not after January 6. Not after 2020. Not after a party that watched the institutions bend, break, and get flushed down the Mar-a-Lago toilet bowl now pretends it never happened.
The damage isn't theoretical. It's active. It's live. And it's reshaping the world. Trade routes are shifting. Investment is diversifying. Global power is rebalancing. China, Korea, and Japan are shaking hands. All of it is premised on a hard-earned truth: the United States cannot be trusted to lead. Not because of one man but because of what half the country has chosen to normalize. Not because of Trump alone but because every institution built to restrain him failed and then got in line.
Trust doesn't return with a photo op, a handshake, or deals signed under duress. It is built slowly, consistently, through a pattern of behavior. Trump broke that pattern. He salted the earth. And now he struts through the wreckage, calling it a win.
The rest of the world sees it for what it is: a state in decline, led by a clown who thinks collapse is just another headline cycle.
They'll smile for the cameras. But they won't forget. And they won't trust. Not now. Not again. Not until the United States proves it deserves it—and that might take generations, if it happens at all.
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