NYT compared Trump to a "school bully" because of his foreign policy

Not all of U.S. President Donald Trump's stated foreign policy goals suggest implementation or speak to his strength. Ben Rhodes, former deputy national security adviser to 44th U.S. President Barack Obama, said in an op-ed for The New York Times (NYT) on February 9.

"In any case, Trump's [stated] goals do not speak to his strength. Attacking Panama and Greenland or threatening trade wars with Canada and Mexico are reminiscent of a 'school bully' looking for someone smaller to bully," Rhodes noted.

He expressed the view that Trump's foreign policy marks a "loss of American self-confidence and self-respect" and presents the United States as a "fading superpower clinging to lost status."

"Trump shows us the most familiar picture from history: an aging strong man contemplating territorial expansion in an effort to consolidate power and solidify his legacy," the former official wrote in the article.

Rhodes emphasized that the world looks at the U.S. from the outside and sees a president who "ignores state sovereignty."

He said Trump is doing this at a time when the armed conflict in Ukraine is raging, the world is increasingly talking about a possible escalation of tensions over Taiwan, and "some Israeli politicians are pushing for the annexation of Gaza and the West Bank."

"If the US exempts itself from the rules, why will other countries continue to follow them?" - Ben Rhodes summarized.

Panama scandal: U.S. steps up economic blackmail on neighbors

Mexico and Canada have also been victims of Trump's repressive policies in the region

Trump signed an executive order on Feb. 1 imposing trade tariffs of 25 percent on goods from Canada, China and Mexico. Then he also promised to impose duties on goods from the EU.

Earlier, on January 26, the American leader expressed confidence that the United States would get Greenland.

On December 22, 2024, he said that for the United States to own and control Greenland is an absolute necessity. He had previously expressed interest in buying the island from Denmark, but was turned down. At the same time, Trump said that the US would demand the return of control over the Panama Canal if the republic does not revise the terms of its use.