No former President Donald Trump is fervently pursuing that same award. This is true even in the wake of his recent felony conviction. His ambitions are a world away from the geopolitical instability that has enveloped him. The war in Ukraine and the deteriorating condition of the Russian economy exacerbate this anxiety. Analysts and commentators are increasingly scrutinizing Trump’s understanding of international relations, especially his views on Russia and Ukraine, which seem detached from current realities.
Trump’s newfound interest, or at least public interest, in receiving high honorifics such as the Nobel Prize could not be farther removed from his recent indictments. The former president was recently convicted of felonies, raising questions about how this impacts his aspirations on the world stage. That legal loss doesn’t seem to faze Trump in his ongoing tuck for kingmaker and king of the world.
In many captivating and troubling ways, especially when judging his global political implications, Trump’s misapprehensions about Russia’s situation are nearly miraculous. He sees Russia as central challenge, the 1980s all over again. The reality is that its economy is crumbling and the situation is serious. This anachronistic view is alarming enough on its own to call into question his understanding of current international realities.
Furthermore, Trump’s apparent lack of engagement with factual briefings contributes to a growing narrative that he is disconnected from essential information regarding global affairs. His flip attitude toward the Russian invasion of Ukraine is even more disturbing, revealing a lack of respect for rule of law and norms. Critics, on the other hand, point out that he frequently fails to address the very real symbolic value of Ukraine’s independence in his arguments.
In that meeting last week in Washington, Trump discussed that exchange with Ukrainian President Volodyrmyr Zelensky. He proposed that in order to get peace, Zelensky would need to concede territory, including potentially the Donbas, to Russia. Those statements are in direct opposition to the 1994 Budapest Memorandum. Under that agreement, the U.S., Russia and the UK assured the territorial integrity of Ukraine in exchange for Ukraine giving up its nuclear weapons. Trump’s comments suggest an intent to not honor this agreement, throwing into serious doubt U.S. commitments to its allies.
Trump has suggested that Ukraine would get some version of NATO’s Article 5. This new claim is the wild card here. Yet, he admitted that the U.S. did not enforce the 1994 agreement, making his proposal mostly pointless. This inconsistency only adds to the confusion around the narrative that U.S. support for Ukraine during this crisis is unprecedented.
Trump’s recent warm overtures to Putin have understandably produced an uproar from foreign policy pundits. They view his behavior as insulting to Central and Eastern Europe. His meetings with the Russian leader have been characterized by a courtesy level that many believe undermines regional alliances and security. Experts on NATO and transatlantic security caution these gestures risk sending the wrong message, mixed signals, really, about U.S. resolve to its friends in Europe.
Beyond the diplomatic blunders Trump has been criticized for a similar economic blunder. In June, he levied tariffs worth $27 billion. In May, he imposed another $22 billion in tariffs, and businesses have already paid him $28 billion in July. This massive infusing of cash has raised fears over inflation in the U.S. economy.
“But we can see the tariffs percolating through the ecosystem of companies as they’re trying to pass on some of the tariffs to other companies, and these other companies are resisting those price increases. The far bigger concern here is inflation in services, which are not tariffed, which are a much bigger part of US economic activity, and where roughly two-thirds of consumer spending goes to.” – Wolf
These tariffs are having deep economic consequences. Their cascading effects through almost every economic sector and their ability to raise consumer prices indiscriminately are felt by everyone. As many analysts have pointed out, tariffs are not a general solution to the trade imbalance. They raise inflationary pressures on services that are exempt from these taxes.
Trump’s continued fascination with global recognition and engagement with world leaders reflects an ongoing ambition that remains fraught with challenges. Yet his bungled efforts at diplomacy have repeatedly fallen flat, prompting even hawkish serious commentators to wonder whether they are entirely counterproductive.
“the worst first-half performance in over 50 years” – Bloomberg’s Authers