nye212_Mark MakelaGetty Images_joe biden

Can Joe Biden’s America Be Trusted?

Dec 4, 2020 Joseph S. Nye, Jr.

America's friends and allies have come to distrust it in the wake of Donald Trump's presidency. Joe Biden will do all that he can to repair the damage, but the deeper problem is that many are asking whether Trump was merely a symptom of the decline of American democracy.

CAMBRIDGE – Friends and allies have come to distrust the United States. Trust is closely related to truth, and President Donald Trump is notoriously loose with the truth. All presidents have lied, but never on such a scale that it debases the currency of trust. International polls show that America’s soft power of attraction has declined sharply over Trump’s presidency.

Can President-elect Joe Biden restore that trust? In the short run, yes. A change of style and policy will improve America’s standing in most countries. Trump was an outlier among US presidents. The presidency was his first job in government, after spending his career in the zero-sum world of New York City real estate and reality television, where outrageous statements hold the media’s attention and help you control the agenda.

In contrast, Biden is a well-vetted politician with long experience in foreign policy derived from decades in the Senate and eight years as vice president. Since the election, his initial statements and appointments have had a profoundly reassuring effect on allies.

We hope you're enjoying Project Syndicate.

To continue reading, subscribe now.

Already have an account? Log in

Support High-Quality Commentary

For more than 25 years, Project Syndicate has been guided by a simple credo: All people deserve access to a broad range of views by the world's foremost leaders and thinkers on the issues, events, and forces shaping their lives. At a time of unprecedented uncertainty, that mission is more important than ever – and we remain committed to fulfilling it.

But there is no doubt that we, like so many other media organizations nowadays, are under growing strain. If you are in a position to support us, please subscribe now.

As a subscriber, you will enjoy unlimited access to our On Point suite of long reads, book reviews, and insider interviews; Big Picture topical collections; Say More contributor interviews; Opinion Has It podcast features; The Year Ahead magazine, the full PS archive, and much more. You will also directly support our mission of delivering the highest-quality commentary on the world's most pressing issues to as wide an audience as possible.

By helping us to build a truly open world of ideas, every PS subscriber makes a real difference. Thank you.

Subscribe Now

new comment has been posted. new comments have been posted.

0 Comments on this paragraph, 56 Comments on this article

Peter Schaeffer May 14, 2021

The US is a country at war with itself. The 'woke' rule the media, government, Hollywood, the military, education, corporations, non-for-profits, etc. The 'woke' hate American and will over time (assuming they retain absolute power) destroy it. A nation dedicated to hating itself can not be trusted by anyone, nor should it be. By contrast, 'wokism' is called Baizuo in Chinese and is ridiculed for its deep phoniness. Game over. China wins.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
bdpatton2 Dec 11, 2020

To answer the article's title - No. Unless, we have outrageous honesty/truth with what the establishment is hoping to do with the Great Reset and such, the vast population will see their clandestine efforts as suspect and worthy of skepticism.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
Yoshimichi Moriyama Dec 9, 2020

Allies are important. "The Soviet Union could have never won out in the Cold War contest," said a professor of Kyoto University, Japan. To put it simply, comparing the contest to a boxing match, both Russia and America were heavyweight class. Russia = US. Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, East Germany...were flyweight class. Great Britain, France, West Germany, Japan...were middleweight. Poland, Czechoslovakia...〈 Great Britain, France....

Emmanuel Todd, a well-known French professor of historical demography, said to a Japanese magazine in October that he wanted Trump. Liberalism did not see problems that it caused and was causing like widened and widening income inequalities; liberalist people love the humanity in the abstract, but they cannot see concrete, particular problems the poor suffer from; those liberal people usually have high educational background and they are protected from the hard waves of free trade; they do not see free trade has been hitting people of low level education and so marginal income; they do not see liberal, free trade and liberal immigration have divided and are dividing America; they do not see liberalism has turned education into the tool of rich getting richer and poor becoming poorer, according to Prof. Todd.

A former Japanese defense minister recently talked with a lot of Hispanic people in America. They were little interested in foreign affairs, as he found out. Is it a problem or not a problem for America? It was a big problem. the challenge to American national identity, to Samuel Huntington. the author of Clash of Civilizations, in Who Are We?
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
Rajiv Chopra Dec 8, 2020

It is going to be a long haul for Joe Biden. He seems like a decent person. Personally, I have less faith in Kamala Harris, and she will try and play a major role in Biden's administration.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
Gerry Hofman Dec 7, 2020

Joe Biden's America can be trusted to remain the same hyper capitalist, socialism- hating, wealth obsessed, celebrity worshiping corporatocracy that it is today. If that were not the case, Biden would never make it to the white house. The powers that be would rather illegally return a Trump administration then risk losing their power wealth and gains. Better keep up the pretence a little longer and allow a Democrat government if the damage would be limited.
Europe however, never shared the same fanatical hated of socialism the United States has. Social policies have always been part of the cultural scene like forever, even for the US' most favorite ally, the UK ,with its outstanding socialized health-care system.
The truth is, you can't have any freedom without a state that provides for it. The more people distrust the state, the worser the services that it provides. And the more the state distrusts the people, the more unfree they will find themselves. When you have a state that trusts it's people, and where the people have trust in their elected officials, well then you have a good thing. This however, is not America.
Europe was made impotent by turning to a near complete reliance on an external power, the United States. It became dependent on an arsenal of nuclear doomsday weapons that Europe itself could never match or manufacture. The cold war arms race not only bankrupted the USSR, it also put Europe in a state of dependence it should never have allowed.
But we know better now. We know that a full scale nuclear war would destroy all civilization and drive life back to the oceans. We know that unbridled capitalism will destroy the environment and drive countless species to extinction. We know that corporate control will enslave us all and that the huge wealth of some will keep the masses bound in poverty.
The changes that would turn this around won't be made by Biden or any other president that may come after him. The can only be made by removing America from the top of the economic and political order. America has long lost its way, stopped looking after its people stopped looking after its population long ago and just pretends to care about anybody else. In Europe we need a new kind of politics and that politics will need to come out of Europe. Without it, there won't be much of a future at all.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
Michael Public Dec 7, 2020

From the Wikipedia entry on the US birth rate:
"Non-Hispanic Whites" make up 60.7% of the country's population. Their share of the U.S. population is expected to fall below 50% by 2045, primarily due to immigration and low birth rates.
- Hayne Crum Dec 7, 2020
  
  About 30% of the Hispanics consider themselves as "white".
  A new reply to this comment has been posted.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
Michael Public Dec 7, 2020

Trust is not binary. When you ask a poll question like "Do you trust the government?" there are words missing at the end that are left for the person polled to choose in their mind - those words can be "...totally" or "...sometimes" or "...at all" or anything else. Because of the lack of specificity, interpreting anything from such polls is futile.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
Rolf Wasén Dec 6, 2020

The answer on Nye’s question is ’hardly’ and he is also voicing some mild concerns. Concerning the pandemia, the economy and the polarisation.

It is very doubtful if the Biden-administration will manage these factors alone. With the temptation to use the pandemia politically with a policy that strikes very asymmetrically and not at least against the poor. Questionable how good and worthwhile the resulting ”control” is. As to the economy - which will be a decisive factor - it is very questionable if the Biden-team will succeed. With European identity politics and a climate policy which is highly problematic and probably very expensive. And the high expectations that the Democrats have generaded nationally and internationally. They are not cost-free.

When the soft talking is over the hard reality will decide. Can really Biden motivate enough many people? Questionable!

Besides, there are issues with the trust for his politics in the Middle-East. I have some hope that the Biden-administration will be tougher with Turkey. But Iran? The situation in the Middle-East have an enormous
importance for Europe and now China, Russia, Turkey and Iran are expected to move their positions forwards. In the wake of appeasement and compliance! Will this generade trust?

I hope that I am wrong.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
Mirek Fatyga Dec 6, 2020

the question is ill posed. The actual question is how to stop the return of brown fascism in the western world. It is clear that the US is now a politically unstable country for the foreseeable future. So is France and, on a little longer time horizon, so is Germany. Never mind the UK which may not even survive as a unitary country. Brown fascism is on the march in Eastern Europe, it is well established in Russia already.

Living standards in the West will remain under pressure for decades to come, as a result of the worldwide population growth which puts pressure on resources. Technological fixes to this predicament ,even if feasible, will take time, money and determination. Rising inequality is a default solution imposed by the markets

The pressure on living standards and generational amnesia conspire to create political instability.

Some initial statements by Mr Biden are concerning, some less so. Saying that "America is back, to reclaim her role at the head of the table" is borderline delusional, if taken seriously. The idea of a summit of democracies is a bit more sensible.

What is left of Democracies need to wake up to the realization that this form of government is again in peril, as it was in the 1930-ies. The good news is that daily life is objectively better for most in the Western World today, the bad news is that this may not matter. The really bad news is that a serious outbreak of fascism could kill billions, not millions as did the previous one, since this new Fascism would have thousands of nukes on day one.

This is a serious fight and stakes could not be higher. Nobody should be condescending, for they may be next.
- P. Kamath Dec 7, 2020
  
  Brown Facism, what’s that? Doe’s it come in various hues and colours? As far as I understand they all belong the same species of thugs and murderers. Guarding one’s civilized society should be a continual one generations after generations. No one can relax and lull oneself into passivity.
  - Mirek Fatyga Dec 8, 2020
    
    There were two variants of fascism in the XXth century Europe. Brown fascism in western Europe, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Red Fascism in Russia. They were similar in the way they controlled society, through propaganda and terror when necessary, but did differ in some important aspects, like the ownership of means of production.
    - P. Kamath Dec 8, 2020
      
      I was visiting Poland exactly fifty years ago and there was communist rule then. Yet people talked in hushed tone to outsiders like me- pretty unafraid. But it was bad in Moscow or even in small city like Novogorod. People were hush in the presence of the police. Very shocking and sad. But variants of Facism is being practised in India today by the ruling party. There Muslims are being treated the way as Jews during Nazi era. How Ironic!
      - vivek iyer Dec 12, 2020
        
        Kamath Begum, you are wrong. Poland, in 1970 was in many senses worse off than in 1960.`
        
        P. Kamath Dec 12, 2020
        
        Ms. Iyer. Perhaps !
        
        A new reply to this comment has been posted.
        
        A new reply to this comment has been posted.
      A new reply to this comment has been posted.
    A new reply to this comment has been posted.
  A new reply to this comment has been posted.
- Michael Public Dec 7, 2020
  
  You are correct that America cannot reclaim it role as the World's leader. There are hard reasons for this, notably 70 years ago the US was 50% of the World's gdp - today it is 25% - also much US military technology has been stolen or reverse engineered by other nations.
  - P. Kamath Dec 10, 2020
    
    MICHAEL PUBLIC: Your statement” ..much US military has been stolen ..by other other Nations”. ....is awfully weak and lacks knowledge as to how progress in science and technology takes place. Here are some reasons why there is nothing wrong with that practice. All through history of man kind, nations on the opposite side of the battle lines have copied, military weapons and technology , analyzed and reproduced better versions. One can find hundreds of examples. Hand cranked cross-bow is an advanced version superior to hand-drawn bow and arrow. It can piece body armour. Discovery of gun powder in China was further modified in Europe for use in muzzle loading canons. Then came muzzle loading recoil less artillery designed by the French in WWI in the 19th century. Same thing can be said about hand-held flint lock guns to rapid firing automatic machine guns etc. Crude radars mounted on tall towers in prewar England have given rise to high precision military airborne ones that can guide missiles hundred miles away towards enemy fighter planes. Similar advances have taken place in tanks, war ships, submarines and war planes etc.
    
    It is utterly height of ignorance to say,” ..they stole from us ..kind of thing” and blame others. Everybody does that. Scientists and engineers design machines based on the laws of nature, physics and mathematics. A well trained engineer in S. Africa is no different from one from China, N.Korea, India, Brazil, Israel, ... or USA.
    
    It is criminal negligence on the part of military and industrial thinkers to ignore what other are doing in peace time as well as during times of conflict and war. One must realize that given similar conditions of threat, an American is no superior to a Chinese or one that is born in the Bantu land. All that is missing is money and political will.
    
    Nobody can stop proliferation of knowledge by erecting high walls and oceans can’t stop it. That’s why secrets of an nuclear bomb from USA went to USSR, Europe , China, India or say N.Korea. Natural laws of Mother Nature is the same on this planet or some other part of our solar system.
    A new reply to this comment has been posted.
  - Mirek Fatyga Dec 8, 2020
    
    we will agree to disagree on this theft issue.
    
    In my opinion, there was one, principal reason why the US became so dominant right after WW2. The military technology of the time was at a stage such, that the US mainland remained untouchable throughout the war. This meant that major competitors of the US were bombed into rubble, while the US was "the arsenal of democracy". Another feature of WW2 was that it was perhaps the first war which was as much a technological race as it was a clash of arms, not to diminish the sacrifices that the soldiers made. Right after the war many of these technologies turned out to be commercially viable and in fact transformative. The US enjoyed this advantage, though slowly diminishing, roughly until the first oil crisis. If you want to talk about the theft of technologies, Europeans could say exactly the same thing about the US. Remember, the US space program was initially set up by one Verner von Braun, who was Hitler's rocketeer. He used to quip "I aim at the moon, but sometimes I hit London".
    
    It is a little bit different with China, you can argue about technological theft a little bit more persuasively there. Nonetheless, even there, most technological advances end up being copied eventually.
    
    The biggest issue, in my book, is the overall population growth that outran the ability of western civilization to accommodate on a relatively short timescale. In a long run, if the civilization does not blow itself up, these numbers probably can be accommodated into at least decent standards of living. Getting there takes time and money, though and, in the meantime, people get frustrated and angry, which can be manipulated for political purposes. It is easier to give someone a uniform and a gun, than it is to give him a decent life. It has always been thus.
    - P. Kamath Dec 10, 2020
      
      Mirek: pls read my comment in reply to Michael Public. Why do you say,” It is a little bit different with China,“. Use of word “steal” is all relative. If one were to speak loudly sitting next to me about secrets, and if I were to put them my use, would you say, I am evesdropping?
      
      Here is an example. Tesla motors want to break into and monopolize electric car manufacturing in Chinese market in the next 4 years. A fact! At this time every item is manufactured on a fifty-fifty % basis. So all know- how ie specs., testing methods, materiel specs, manufacturing drawings , software info. drawing, Q.C methods and everything is handed over to Chinese engineers, techs, metallurgists, machinists, logistics experts.
      
      Do you honestly believe that the Chinese are a bunch of ignorant peasants who don’t know how to use them in practice and modify the vehicle for domestic and overseas market.? why blame them for becoming competitors?
      
      It is the greed on the part of US corporations that handed over these knowledge willingly- Don’t blame others!
      A new reply to this comment has been posted.
    A new reply to this comment has been posted.
  A new reply to this comment has been posted.
- Michael Public Dec 7, 2020
  
  I have long wondered the extent of generational amnesia in the World Today. I have always thought that humanity slept through the creation of the 3rd Reich - and that if it tries to rise again, it will have a heavy spotlight shined on it. Also, nuclear weapons use will almost certainly end with mutually assured destruction - although I caution that the US, Russia and China all continuously search for a technology that give them 'first strike with no retaliation' capability - lasers, satellites, interceptor missiles, hypersonic and others. Dangerous times indeed.
  A new reply to this comment has been posted.
- Michael Public Dec 7, 2020
  
  -deleted-
  A new reply to this comment has been posted.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
Elizabeth Pula Dec 6, 2020

The trumpet did a little bit more than "sometimes" confuse the national interest with his own personal, political, and financial interests. The trumpet was ONLY focused on accomplishing personal specific goals that ONLY produced results to satisfy his own personal, political, and financial interests at the TOTAL RISK to any national interests and immediate or any future concerns, issues, or RISK for and to the majority of the US population, especially US citizens.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
Adrian Wu Dec 6, 2020

The author is correct in stating that all national leaders work for the interest of their own nations. After WWII, the US was in such an obviously superior position, both financially and militarily, that it could pretty much dictate international rules on trade and diplomacy. Countries that refused to recognize the US as the de facto leader and hegemon were labeled as rogue states. They were subjected to sanctions and covert destabilization activities. This worked well for many decades, especially when the fear of the Soviet Union drove the Europeans into the arms of the Americans. The situation now is very different. While the US is still militarily the strongest nation, the situation is no longer so one sided. It has run a trade and fiscal deficit for so long that the US dollar is in danger of losing its reserve currency status; perhaps not in the next 5 years, but it could significantly weaken in the next decade. The US is desperately trying to make China into another bogeyman in order to unite its traditional allies under its fold once again. However, unlike the USSR, these allies have too much economic interest with China to abandon the relationship. And the massive debt load accumulated in the past 20 years is coming home to roost. With dark clouds gathering overhead, it will be every man for himself.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
zebbrad Dec 6, 2020

There are plenty of allies that became closer to the US in the last four years - The UK, Ukraine, Israel, Poland, and Taiwan among them. The primary block of allies that seem to "distrust" the US due to Trump's actions are in the western EU, primarily Germany. Trump never made any moves to actually leave NATO. As a negotiator seeking to push the Europeans to spend more ON THEIR OWN DEFENSE , he simply took a much more boorish way of pushing than all his predecessors (who had no luck after years of begging the Europeans to do more). There is also strong US bi-partisan desire for Germany to drop Nordstream II which only funds their primary military opponent. To hear the contortions to justify this project by the German Government and business interests just beggars belief. Well perhaps we will simply go back to the days of the US politely asking the wealthy Europeans to spend more on NATO and the Europeans will politely explain that they have much higher budget priorities and cannot possibly spare another Euro defending themselves. Then everyone goes to a nice post-summit dinner.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
Gregory Prang Dec 6, 2020

It seems to me that our allies are divided much as the USA is, and that more than half the leadership groups in allied nations are happy that the USA has stopped infantilizing them. They will be reluctant to give up their newfound adult status.
- Michael Public Dec 7, 2020
  
  The infantilization of the past was a fair trade - done in exchange for military protection. I bet Armenia wishes it has exchanged infantilization for protection when the Azerbaijan army came over the border...
  A new reply to this comment has been posted.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
j. von Hettlingen Dec 6, 2020

Joseph S. Nye, Jr. says Joe Biden - in the short term - could restore America’s credibility and a modicum of trust with “a change of style and policy.” Trump has squandered the country’s “soft power of attraction,” destroying its international standing in the world. No US presidents had debased the “currency of trust” in America as Trump does. Most Europeans and a majority of Americans are overjoyed that they will soon see the back of him.
According to the author, America’s friends and allies “have come to distrust” the US under Trump, who breaks words and promises on a whim - withdrawing the US from the Paris Climate Accord, the nuclear deal with Iran, and some UN-organisations etc. They have had enough of his zero-sum mindset, his transactional approach in foreign policy, and his “disdain for alliances and multilateralism.” Not to mention his character flaws, ignorance and incompetence, which had all contributed to a dysfunctional administration, which is responsible for its disastrous management of the ongoing pandemic.
Biden will do his best to repair the damage. But he “still face a deeper trust problem. Many allies are asking what is happening to American democracy,” wondering whether Trump was merely a symptom of its decline, and if the country is still trustworthy. After all it had “produced as strange a political leader as Trump in 2016,” and the world can not be sure whether Amercan voters can be “trusted not to produce another in 2024 or 2028?”
Some 74 million voters in the US had supported Trump’s bid for re-election. Even if he, himself, will not run in 2024, eying a comeback aimed at making him the only person other than Cleveland to win another term after losing the White House, he had squandered America’s goodwill. Without that trust, ties will be tenuous. A strong Transatlantic relationship is indispensable for the US and its European allies to counter threats posed by China and Russia.
Most Europeans are frustrated because so many Americans still support Trump, a con artist with authoritarian streak. What worries them most is that so many Republicans still do not see it as their duty to defend their country and its Constitution against Trump's assaults on democracy. Although he has been voted out of office, many fear that the next four years might just be a respite for grooming the next Trumpian candidate, be it Don Jr or Ivanka or someone else cut from the same cloth.
The author is confident that Biden would be more successful in diplomacy than getting things done at home. “The US Constitution provides a president more leeway in foreign than in domestic policy, so the short-term improvements in cooperation will be real. Moreover, unlike in 2016, when Trump was elected, a recent Chicago Council on Global Affairs poll shows that 70% of Americans want an outward-oriented cooperative foreign policy– a record high.”
Another advantage Biden has over Trump is his political skills and long experience as senator and vice-president. Since the election, Biden has shown leadership qualities in a national health crisis, and his “ initial statements and appointments have had a profoundly reassuring effect on allies.” He will excel in decency and honesty, putting the country’s interests before his own - quite a contrast to Trump, who often “confused the national interest with his own personal, political, and financial interests.”
It is most unlikely that Biden will be able to restore domestic trust within one term in office. “The declining trust in government and other institutions that fueled Trump’s rise did not start with him. Low trust in government has been a US malady for a half-century. After success in World War II, three-quarters of Americans said they had a high degree of trust in government. This share fell to roughly one-quarter after the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal of the 1960s and 1970s.”
Nevertheless the recent elections have shown “the underlying strength and resilience of American democratic culture.” Defying the ”worst pandemic in a century and dire predictions of chaotic voting conditions, a record number of voters turned out, and the thousands of local officials – Republicans, Democrats, and independents – who administered the election regarded the honest execution of their tasks as a civic duty.”
The US has shown the world that a bad president can be removed from office while avoiding a coup and bloodshed. The Americans need to be vigilant and step up their efforts in defending their democracy, making sure that the Trump presidency is just an aberration - a one-time exception, and that there would not be another Trump leading the country again in the future.
- zebbrad Dec 6, 2020
  
  What's quite interesting is that with 90% of the media 100% voraciously opposed to Trump for four years and a terrible handling of the pandemic by Trump, it still took a third party candidate taking votes away from Trump in the swing states to hand the win to Biden. The world should expect another Trump (or Trump himself) in the future.
  A new reply to this comment has been posted.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
Alan Smithee Dec 6, 2020

It's always the globalist view that it the U.S. responsibility to "restore trust" with Europeans, but never the European's responsibility to "restore trust" with the U.S. I started to create a long list of European actions that make them untrustworthy allies - not only to the U.S. but to fellow Europeans - but it is not worth the time to post a long list. The U.S. and Europe are evolving separate views of the world, and our alliances / relations need to be seriously reviewed and changed, not restored.
- Barbara C Peterson Dec 6, 2020
  
  Let another war start in Europe and who will they expect to win it for them?
  A new reply to this comment has been posted.
- Rolf Wasén Dec 6, 2020
  
  This kind of one-sided relation is often the case of divorce. The remedy is to make it less one-sided or asymmetric.
  A new reply to this comment has been posted.
- Rolf Wasén Dec 6, 2020
  
  Despite being an European I am inclined to think that you are right. A lot is in need of a honest review and perhaps a revision too. Not at least the EU. Most influential Europeans unaware or uncomfortable with this I suspect. Trouble not progress in the years to come.
  A new reply to this comment has been posted.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
kenritt270 ritt Dec 5, 2020

The author and magnitude he places on EU is right out of the 1950's. EU is rich and can manage it's own affairs. The US doesn't need to waste money or lives defending the continent. Again that thinking is a waste of our money. The future is in Asia and limiting the China menace. IF we do not focus on resource on that lawless aggressor - every one (EU included) will suffer greatly
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
Leo Arouet Dec 5, 2020

The percentage of approval for an outward-oriented policy is good news, as it is necessary to reestablish relations with allied countries to face climate change.
- Alan Smithee Dec 6, 2020
  
  Let me play devil's advocate. The U.S. never ratified the Kyoto treaty, yet exceeded its CO2 reduction target. The U.S. is no longer part of the Paris Accords, yet is exceeding its CO2 reduction pledge. Why is it "necessary to reestablish relations with allied countries to face climate change"?
  - Michael Public Dec 7, 2020
    
    Because Americans can afford Teslas and wind farms. Half the World cannot, and will continue to belch C02 into the air. Your air. If the US refuses to acknowledge the problem, it gives every other country a free pass to ignore the problem.
    A new reply to this comment has been posted.
  A new reply to this comment has been posted.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
william starr Dec 5, 2020

Why should they "trust" us or we "trust" them? We shouldn't be in NATO, or even involved in European politics. The only nation we "need" to have a relationship is the UK. Let be clear, we WILL NOT fight for eastern Ukraine, Georgia, Poland or the Baltics. America's focus and future is westward, Asia. If any Ds get in a fight over there......we, populist, will put that around their neck for generations. Expending American treasure and boys for a continent that doesn't even want to defend themselves. History has turned the page on Europe. It is an aging, disunified collection of weak powers that can't influence anything outside their region.
- Michael Public Dec 7, 2020
  
  "It is an aging, disunified collection of weak powers that can't influence anything outside their region." The US may soon join the club. China will happily fill the power vacuum.
  A new reply to this comment has been posted.
- Barbara C Peterson Dec 6, 2020
  
  Good post.
  A new reply to this comment has been posted.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
danbfas Dec 5, 2020

Curious that countries that have been propped up for decades by the United States in regards to military security and trade advantages are now "untrusting" because a President FINALLY called them out to be more self-reliant. All the while, they were keeping their dollars at home, investing in education, infrastructure, etc., while the US monetary situation remained stagnant. "Untrusting"?? I think the US should be more concerned about "trust" from Macron, Merkel and the other European leaders who now have to face reality.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
Henry Miller Dec 5, 2020

"Can President-elect Joe Biden restore that trust?"

Wrong question. The question is whether we can trust our so-called "allies." Recent history suggests that we can't.
- Michael Public Dec 7, 2020
  
  "Recent history suggests that we can't."
  Are you referring to the Boston Tea Party?
  A new reply to this comment has been posted.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
Robert Wolff Dec 5, 2020

The explicit statement by Donny Trump that, "I don't trust anyone" was not a good statement by America. It led him into a belief that only dictators, hated by the independent press, were possibly right, and that he was one of them, elected by "The People" who were hated by The Press. No doubt Hillary Clinton's statement in the 2016 Election that "Deplorables" were running against her helped and won for Trump.

The still and present question is, "Who are these Deplorables, and what are they against?" This will haunt the the Biden and all future Democratic presidents.

Who are the political "Deplorables" against the rule of Democrats against?

We are not over the divisiveness of politics in America, the polarized hatred, nor the failure of American Democracy to accept the rule of the democratically elected.

We have a long ways to go, and no obvious way to get there.
- Henry Miller Dec 5, 2020
  
  We're against those who would "fundamentally transform" America into a government-dominated society that dismisses individual freedom in favour of collective conformity.
  
  And we're all for "the rule of the democratically elected"--so long as those elected honestly embrace the Constitution, including the federal structure it established and the limitations on the power of the federal government it imposes. On the whole, Democrats fail both of those tests and will thus be opposed.
  
  Remember that the President is required to take an oath of office:
  
  "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
  
  Advocating the exercise of federal powers never granted in the Constitution is not preserving, protecting, or defending it. To the contrary. Usurpation of "powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution" is a violation of that oath, but that's exactly what the Democrats constantly demand.
  - Sharon Carson Dec 6, 2020
    
    The pandemic has proved that we have no "individual freedom" from biology.
    - Henry Miller Dec 6, 2020
      
      But we have absolute individual freedom in our responses to biology.
      - Sharon Carson Dec 6, 2020
        
        True--but are our responses to our biological limitations in the interests of the common good, or are we so arrogant that we believe our choices do not affect others?
        
        Henry Miller Dec 7, 2020
        
        It's not a matter of arrogance, it's jointly a matter of "common good" being a subjective term and, even if that's decided upon, how to achieve that "common good" is usually a matter of debate.
        
        Ad rem, it's not clear that the economic and cultural costs of these draconian COVID measures are less than the direct costs of the disease itself. Yes, COVID kills people--but so have wars in America's history the intent of which was to create and preserve America and its institutions. In the view of many of us, many of the COVID measures are no less an attack on our institutions than was, e.g., today being the anniversary of that event, the attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941.
        
        Sharon Carson Dec 7, 2020
        
        "Individual freedom" is also a subjective term. Do we have the right to drive drunk, to infect others indiscriminately with HIV, run stop lights? How far does individual freedom go before we have anarchy?
        
        Henry Miller Dec 7, 2020
        
        Good questions, to which I can only answer that it depends on circumstances and individual discretion.
        
        A new reply to this comment has been posted.
        
        A new reply to this comment has been posted.
        
        A new reply to this comment has been posted.
        
        A new reply to this comment has been posted.
      A new reply to this comment has been posted.
    A new reply to this comment has been posted.
  A new reply to this comment has been posted.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
Bernhard Kopp Dec 4, 2020

The lasting impression on the world must be that the US-president has far too much raw power. He seems to be an elected dictator - by Mr. Barr's definition, the "President is the Executive Branch " and most everybody on the federal payroll is formally or de-facto " serving at his pleasure ". President Trump clearly said that he has " total power". If a president is inclined to use his power beyond any sense of tradition or ethical standards, in his personal interest or otherwise, there is nobody to stop him, since there is no effective congressional oversight and there are non-existent or insufficient legal constraints.
- Henry Miller Dec 5, 2020
  
  It must be pointed out that Obama ruled by Executive Order without congressional authorisation, a power never granted in the Constitution, and assertions of "beyond any sense of tradition or ethical standards" are both subjective and not Constitutionally binding. FDR's "New Deal" violated the traditions and ethical standards of 1930s America, but I suspect that Mr Kopp has no retroactive objection to it.
  A new reply to this comment has been posted.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
stephan Edwards Dec 4, 2020

It's 7 to 3 that a new populist will emerge in 2024 or 2028. All Biden is doing and has made it plain he's doing is returning to the status quo ante. The status quo that brought Trump to the top in the first place. More Jobs overseas, more H1b's more illegal immigration driving wages. All too many believe on the left that the working class has "White Privilege" so who cares about them? And the policies announced and Biden's Political appoints reflect this. All it will take is a Populist with a modicum of charisma and the ability to tie their own shoes. If someone on the right had the Charisma and cunning of Huey Long it would already be over. What I will say for all the denials from the Democrats a return to the status quo and the policies that created Trump will throw up another one. Not a question a fact.
- Michael Public Dec 7, 2020
  
  I think we all know that - the question is what can we can DO to mitigate it. One of the best things to stop a wave of Fascism is to have a strong alliance of powerful nations firmly against it - so anyone wanting to establish the 4th Reich will have his work cut out for him.
  - stephan Edwards Dec 8, 2020
    
    Except it's US internal Politics nothing the EU can do about or alliance of Nations can do about it.
    The reality is the losers of Globalization (and in the US they're a plurality headed towards a majority) Don't give a single solitary damn for what Foreign Nations want, think or do. Foreign Nations are the enemy and I can't say I blame them they have good reason to feel that way. The wholesale destruction of the middle class by shipping the work that allowed a blue collar middle class overseas doesn't lead to warm friendly feeling for the nations shipped to. I have no particular love for Mexico or Malaysia. And I'll freely after being the choice of six weeks severance for training Rajiv from Wipro or being walked out with 2 weeks severance. I have use whatsoever for H1b's or East Indians.
    
    And you can say it wasn't the people or the nations, it was the corporations and I will only partially agree. The nations did cut some very nice deals to BRIBE the corporations after all. And you can say well it lifted X number out of poverty in the 3rd world and that was a worthwhile sacrifice. But did you ever notice the people saying that didn't have interests & sacrificed in the name of "Free Trade" & "Globalization" ? The Proclaimer's about how it was necessary and "Their is NO choice!" all came out ahead. Coincidence?
    
    All Biden is offering or planning to do is a return to Status Quo Ante. The Status Quo Ante that created Trump in the first place. And the reality is that Status quo is so unacceptable that Trump looked good and still looked good even after 4 years.
    
    People want change so badly they'll take it in ANY form they can get it even if it comes with spiffy Jackboots and uniforms. They hate the system that badly.
    
    And there is NOTHING the US or any of the developed nations are faintly interested in doing to change these facts. If only because the only ones who could change things? Are the ones doing very very well out of the current set up. And maintaining the Status Quo Ante ? Is so very much in their interests.
    
    No nation no alliance of nations can stop it for 2 reasons. It's INTERNAL politics to each nation the US isn't unique. the radicals of right & left both are on the rise in all the developed world. 2. The people who COULD change it aren't interested in changing it. They make plenty of pious speeches and then collect their campaign & consulting fees from the winners. Thus giving them a preference? for the Status Quo.
    
    Biden isn't going to change anything he isn't interested in changing anything. And without change in how the world economy works (Or doesn't work) take your choice in phrasing. The Jackboots are going to march again no doubt. For how long until the people with nothing left to lose in the developed nations outnumber the people with something to lose?
    A new reply to this comment has been posted.
  A new reply to this comment has been posted.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.

https://prosyn.org/W8Hbey7

Cookies and Privacy

Can Joe Biden’s America Be Trusted?

To continue reading, subscribe now.

Support High-Quality Commentary

New Comment

Email this piece to a friend

Contact us

Log in/Register

Cookies and Privacy

Can Joe Biden’s America Be Trusted?

To continue reading, subscribe now.

Support High-Quality Commentary

Edit Newsletter Preferences

Set up Notification