Trump’s America Is Weaker

Donald Trump takes pride in his campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again” (MAGA). In his familiar style, a combination of arrogance, smugness, inconsistency, and contempt toward anyone who opposes him, Trump repeats, like a broken record, the mantra that he, and only he, will make America greater and stronger. Don’t believe it? Just look at his statements since the war with Iran began: “We have a stronger military,” “I will wipe out Iran,” “The operation will be over in three days” (as he himself claimed he told the British Prime Minister), along with many other examples that reinforce this posture adopted by Trump. But rhetoric and reality are two different things. David Ignatius, in a brilliant Washington Post article (May 21), already pointed out that more and more Americans are ignoring their president’s declarations.

After this introduction, it is worth examining whether the reality in which we live has indeed made America greater, or whether Trump himself is actually making America weaker (MAW).

Trump is tough on the weak. As of May 2026, I can identify three actors who were intimidated by his threats: the president of Colombia, who yielded to Trump’s demands out of fear of sanctions; the current president of Venezuela, who cooperated with him in overthrowing the previous regime in Caracas; and Hamas, which released all the hostages. It remains unclear what sanctions Washington could realistically impose on Hamas, but in practice Trump’s threats were enough to secure a deal in which all the hostages were released.

This is roughly where Trump’s achievements on the international stage end. When confronting a medium-sized rival whose military is weaker than that of the United States, Trump does not prevail. Iran prepared itself for war with the United States (and Israel), and it has not surrendered. Trump is frustrated and does not understand why Iran refuses to capitulate. The explanation is simple: Trump does not understand the Iranian national ethos, which strongly opposes foreign intervention in domestic politics and refused to accept dictations from foreigners.

From Tehran’s perspective, Trump conducts negotiations like an amateur. Why? First, because every few hours he issues contradictory statements. Second, because he speaks far too much in public. In the Middle East, negotiations are conducted behind closed doors, and only once everything is finalized do leaders address the media, briefly and cautiously. Third, he insults the very side with which he is negotiating. Put all this together and it becomes clear why many in Iran and throughout the Middle East, with the exception of Israel, ridicule the American president.

Trump never imagined a three-month campaign (remember? He said three days), yet reality has turned out completely different from what he planned. Trump’s America is weaker not only because of the enormous quantities of weapons deployed in the campaign against Iran, without meaningful results regarding the nuclear issue and while facing a complex problem in the Strait of Hormuz. America is weaker also because of the immense financial costs of the war. America is weaker because it is increasingly forced to listen to voices coming from China. Beijing hosted Trump with honors usually reserved for kings, the same honors granted this week to Vladimir Putin during his visit to the Chinese capital. But ceremonies are one thing; reality is another. Despite the impressive delegation of economic advisers accompanying Trump, the Chinese did not sign agreements with Washington. They are examining, investigating, and calculating carefully. Trump lacks patience, both because of his personality and because he urgently needs achievements. The Chinese not only refuse to rush in giving him what he wants, they are also aligning themselves with Moscow and expressing opposition to the continuation of the war in the Persian Gulf.

Even assuming that Trump were able to overcome all these obstacles, he still faces a serious domestic problem inside the United States. His home network, Fox News, published a recent poll showing that 60 percent of Americans oppose continuing the war. A similarly large number do not even understand what the war is about.

All of this constitutes very bad news for the American president. Midterm elections are approaching, and according to nearly all polls, he is expected to lose his majority in the House of Representatives. In addition, the Washington Post reported that the US Department of Defense assessed that most of the interceptions during “Operation Roaring Lion” (February 28-April 8) were carried out by the Americans rather than by Israel, at least regarding missiles fired toward Israel. This is also bad news for Trump and for Israel. It appears that American weapons stockpiles have been depleted and must now be replenished, increasing US defense expenditures at a time when the dollar is weak, oil prices are high, and the cost of living in the United States has risen dramatically.

This is also problematic for Israel, which has become only a secondary actor in the broader US-Iran conflict, because criticism inside America over Trump’s strong alignment with Israel is steadily intensifying.

In conclusion, all these developments are turning Trump’s America into a global power struggling to function effectively. America still possesses significant sources of power, but Trump is eroding them. The Chinese, Russians, Arabs, and Iranians can all see it. Some smile; others are alarmed by the possibility that America is declining. Slowly, but declining, nonetheless. The fact that Saudi Arabia has halted new contracts with Western companies, including American firms, is further evidence of this trend.

The bottom line is this: this is not the outcome Trump envisioned. Next month he will turn 80. In three years, he will no longer be president. He is driven by the ambition to leave behind a legacy of an America stronger than ever before, especially in relation to rival powers. At the moment, however, he is far from achieving that goal. And if he continues behaving like a bull in a China shop, shattering every possible alliance with longtime allies  as Europe, Canada (which he once threatened to annex), and the Gulf states, it is doubtful that he will achieve the vision he dreams of.