"America's friends will never trust the US again" Bloomberg opinion

[bronxiteforever]

By Andreas Kluth
9/16/2025

… Consider those military drones that Russia just sent into Poland, where NATO jets shot them down. It appears that Russian President Vladimir Putin was testing NATO’s air defenses, crisis procedures and resolve, feeling increasingly confident - especially after that cuddly Alaska summit - that Trump is as wobbly on NATO’s mutual-defense commitment as he is indulgent toward his strongman BFF in the Kremlin.

…If the Polish episode highlights Trump’s inconstancy within NATO and the Qatari event shows his weakness toward Benjamin Netanyahu, America’s actions in Greenland point to downright malice. That semi-autonomous territory belongs to Denmark, one of America’s oldest and tightest allies. (Per capita, Denmark suffered the highest casualty rate in the coalition that joined the US in Afghanistan, for example.) And yet Trump keeps threatening to seize Greenland “one way or the other.” Last month, the Danish foreign minister summoned the top US diplomat in Copenhagen, for the second time this year, to protest covert operations that had come to light. Some Americans had infiltrated Greenland to make lists of people who might turn against Denmark and support a US takeover. This is not friendly.

… The list of friends and allies scorned, humiliated and disdained continues: Trump wants to annex Canada, which shares with the US the world’s longest undefended border and now views Washington as one of its top threats. His intelligence director has blocked information about Russia from going to the Five Eyes, an intelligence-sharing arrangement with Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Canada that is one of America’s most intimate and useful alliances (and has apparently saved many American lives by foiling terrorist plots).

… Some Americans are aware that the current direction points toward disaster. I went to see Gregory Meeks this week. He’s the ranking member and former chairman on the House Foreign Affairs Committee…I asked Meeks what, among all the problems in his inbox, worries him most. He pondered that for a long minute, during which my gaze drifted to the window behind his desk, which perfectly framed the Capitol in all its splendor. “What keeps me up most,” he finally answered, is “whether or not our friends and allies will ever trust the United States again.” The way I heard it, the question was rhetorical. I fear the answer is simple and sad: They won’t.

https://iol.co.za/ios/opinion/2025-09-16-americas-friends-will-never-trust-the-us-again/

Also the author on YouTube about this column
https://youtube.com/shorts/1va-4ZO-9GM?si=biOulJGvywNGuSHl

[Irish_Dem]

1. The US no longer has any friends.

[newdeal2]

6. The great power of El Salvador and...

Yeah I think that’s about it.

[Irish_Dem]

7. Even while Trump does Russia and China's bidding, they hate him.

[rubbersole]

9. And openly mock him.

He's too stupid to get most of it.

[Irish_Dem]

17. Yes they mock him to his face and he is not sharp enough to understand it.

[Evolve Dammit]

13. Only took 9 months too

[Irish_Dem]

16. We probably lost all our friends the first two months. :(

[Evolve Dammit]

18. Pissed off the whole world except the dictators. Orban trained Krasnov well at Magatlago.

[Irish_Dem]

21. And he is angering his dictator friends too.

[Evolve Dammit]

28. He "loves chaos." Doesn't give a shit about repercussions. Just enjoys it. A hobby since puberty?

[Irish_Dem]

29. It appears before puberty.

He operates psychosocially at about 3-6 years of age.

So I think his problems started then. And he never matured beyond it.

I suspect problems started young.

[Evolve Dammit]

30. I think he pushed his sister down the stairs? Mom stated "What kind of monster have I raised?" sounds plausible.nt

[Irish_Dem]

31. He is a violent adult. Chances are he was a violent kid.

[malaise]

2. Bloomberg should know better

“America has no permanent friends or enemies, only interests”
― Henry Kissinger

[Wonder Why]

3. Wrong, IMHO. They should rightfully never trust Donkey or his clown and any future right wing government but to say tha

they will never trust the US is downright insulting to their intelligence.

As if they can't tell the difference between good and bad governments. Even we recognize the difference between Nazi Germany and the present government of that country.

[bronxiteforever]

4. As a general matter I agree. Yet the specific situation

is very different. With due deference to Yogi Berra in that “it is tough to make predictions especially about the future”, if the GOP is completely the Trump party and I see no change coming to that, the democracies of the world will have to contend with the fact that after a maybe 4 year hiatus or an 8 year one, the Trumplicans retake power, all those alliances will again be invalid.

NATO survived multiple Democratic and Republican presidencies until now. There was consistency and stability of that alliance over the long term. I do not see a return to that order in the future. Just my take, I hope I am wrong but I see no evidence that I am.

[Disaffected]

5. Not wrong at all, IMO.

The problem is, the US has a history of swinging between good and bad governance and it is next to impossible to foretell when the next swing will happen and, what its consequences will be. This makes any form of long-term planning next to impossible so other, more stable, countries have no choice but to diminish reliance on the US and turn to alternatives (NATO and international trade being prime examples).

And who would now want to invest billions in the US because of US tariffs and have it pulled from beneath their feet when a more moderate government is elected and tariffs are removed? Or when those efforts to build in the US are thwarted by government actions such as the arrest and expulsion of Korean workers at the new Hyundai auto plant?

Another example is Keystone XL which was approved by Trump, cancelled by Biden and re-approved by Trump, all this after tens of billions were already spent on the project by TC Energy. TC Energy said screw this after Trump offered to re-approve the project and who could blame them??

The US has a very long road ahead before trust by other countries is ever restored.

[Maru Kitteh]

10. If you cannot trust the half, it spoils the whole.

[Justice matters.]

15. Little king pedofelon the first stole thousands of classified documents

after Biden was inaugurated and no punishment (no Justice) ever happened to him during his entire term.

Sorry but that reality that paved the way for the traitorous criminal's return into office made absolutely certain the US will never ever be trusted about conducting foreign affairs in accordance with its own rules.

Trust is lost forever.

[Torchlight]

8. Americans will spend the next three generations apologizing for the next three years

There's a lot of people with their heads in the sand, repeating the incantation, "they won't/can't do this.." as it happens around us.

[twodogsbarking]

11. From a person smarter than I. "When trust is broken, sorry means nothing."

[Mysterian]

12. Fundamental flaws in our constitution have acted like viruses in a computer system

They have allowed the wealthy to manipulate our society to destroy democracy and allow them to become nobility once again.

The worst fundamental flaws are the undemocratic apportionment of senators and the electoral college.

[groundloop]

20. THIS - plus the abominable interpretation of the 2nd Amendement (ignoring "well regulated militia")

[Buddyzbuddy]

14. The Felon has brought shame and embarrassment to my Country.

[BoRaGard]

19. G.O.P. lies have been so damaging to America

only Satan could love what they are doing

[LiberalLovinLug]

22. As one of your neighbours up here in the great white north.....I mourn for your great country

And it still is great in many ways. It has been for a long time. Making America great again? Never made sense to me.

But even though I know that usually, historically, there will be another Democrat in the White House, it won't help heal instantly. And that is the most positive outcome as its not even clear if that will happen anytime soon if MAGA and Trump manage to subvert elections.

Because we now know that half of your population is susceptible to far right disinformation with a charismatic personality leading the campaign. It was hinted at when George W Bush was elected and re-elected. How easy it was to demean Kerry and Gore and easy to convince enough rubes that Kerry was a 'fake' war hero, and Gore was living in a dystopian fantasy about climate change.

But electing Obama fooled us here in other countries. We thought you'd turned the corner. My god they gave Obama a Nobel Peace prize seemingly just in celebration of the US turning that perceived corner.

But the far right just doubled down. With Trump leading the charge with the Obama birth certificate doubts. Could right wing disinformation work again? To fool enough voters? The answer was yes unfortunately.

It will take a long time of stability and law abiding leadership, and re-establishing of democratic institutions before other countries will ever take a chance on trusting you again. Its hard to believe how one man could set back a once powerful, generous, free nation as the (no longer) United States of America.

[ihaveaquestion]

23. Europe is in a much better position to defend itself than it was in the past.

Excuse me for this "accolade", but thanks to our sorry-ass shitstain-in-chief, NATO countries have ramped up their defenses lately. I think Russia will find it hard-going to launch an attack on any European or NATO country...especially since the war on Ukraine has decimated their military.

[Disaffected]

24. Yes, that is perhaps the one good thing that Trump has

(inadvertently) done - both for Europe and Canada.

But who can tell what the ultimate outcome may be? Russia still has a vast nuclear arsenal and judging from the Putin et al maniacal war-mongering, anything is possible.

[BobTheSubgenius]

25. I believe the mistrust and hostility towards America will be temporary.

Of course, there's a lot of room in which to define "temporary." It could well be that the wounds are too deep to heal inside a timeline of a couple of years, but still a temporary waiting period until the thaw. It's going to require some effort on the part of the US, and a president that is near-perfect for his time.

Remember how most of the world thought about GWB and his "administration?" It didn't take long at for Obama's administration to turn world opinion around. The next President is going to have his or her work cut out for them, and a LOT depends on how the world responds to the death of globalization. Some might well see it as Drumpf's fault, but the US and much of the world has been heading this way for some time. Every US leader has moved the country farther and farther away from the global community, but none have been so blatant and bellicose about it.

Bretton Woods has been on life support for quite a while, and while there are still debates to be had about it, its raisin d'etre has all but passed. It was mainly to have a way to deter, or, in the worst-case scenario, stop tanks from rolling West from the USSR. Does anyone think that is a threat any more? I still believe in NATO's mission, and the need for its existence, but no one is going to patrol the world's oceans any more. No one can. That's a job for destroyers, not super carriers, and the USN falls short of the destroyer count needed by hundreds.

[RockRaven]

26. They shouldn't. America elected Donald Fucking Trump twice in three elections.

Trump is a symptom, not the underlying disease. And that disease makes us unworthy of their trust.

[markie]

27. so much damage done

Paul Krugman explains as well.... we will not be trusted

?si=0Cs0sb-9a3D_z3Pc