In less than a year, America’s relationship with the world has changed radically, but there are not many signs that anyone knows in which direction the world’s most powerful democracy has taken it, not even Donald Trump.
The chaotic decisions of the current administration have caused unrest in the USA, with the prospect of a Republican victory in the November midterm elections becoming increasingly distant.
If domestic policy has been catastrophic, from prices to hunting immigrants on the streets of cities, in foreign policy, Donald Trump has had at least two important achievements – ceasefire in Gaza and neutralization of Iran’s influence in the Middle East through the bombing of nuclear infrastructure.
Currently, no one understands what his intentions are in Venezuela, and his complicated relationship with Putin continues to make the resolution of the bloody conflict in Ukraine uncertain.
But the most shocking development in American politics during Donald Trump's tenure has been his constant political aggression towards the closest allies of the USA - namely Canada, the United Kingdom, and the European Union.
A disaster for MAGA
Since his first term, Donald Trump has made no secret of his irritation with NATO, rightly blaming Europeans for not spending anything on defense, leaving the USA to bear the entire burden of military costs.
However, the brutal manner in which he has treated allies indicated that his reactions are driven by a deeper resentment, one that has never been quite clear.
His special relationship with Vladimir Putin, however, suggested a hidden desire to create a new world order.
Yet, neither then nor now has he achieved much, especially because Donald Trump has been a spoiled, wealthy child, obsessed with his own personality and the desire to be popular at all costs. This has hindered him and continues to hinder him from successfully executing a plan.
His business philosophy of doing anything to achieve his goal, of winning by any means, helped him become the most powerful man on the planet, but has been an obstacle in decision-making.
The Epstein File is a disaster for Donald Trump. Being part of the circle of the biggest human trafficker, serial rapist, and pedophile was a bomb that exploded within MAGA, the political movement he founded and that brought him to power.
Internal tensions, chain departures, and conflicting messages have eroded public support and paved the way for the Democrats' comeback after the bitter defeats of last year, both in the presidential and parliamentary elections.
The silent hostility
In the first term of Donald Trump, but also in that of Joe Biden, Romania had a special relationship with the USA, being seen by Washington as a pro-American country, situated in a strategically important area, with a developing economy that can support US policy both in the European Union and in the Middle East.
Unfortunately, shortly after Trump's return to the White House, the strategic partnership developed over the past decades through the participation of Romanian soldiers alongside Americans in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan went adrift.
The US President's closeness to Putin, his silence regarding the Kremlin's powerful and odious attack on the electoral process in Romania, using the pro-Russian influence networks in Bucharest intensively, the despicable attacks by J.D. Vance, US Vice President, and Elon Musk at the beginning of the year, when the situation in Bucharest was extremely volatile, have frozen the relations between the two countries.
The peak of a silent hostility from the current American administration towards Romania was recorded at the end of October.
At that time, Donald Trump withdrew around 1,000 soldiers from the Mihail Kogălniceanu base, causing a crisis of confidence in our country with strong regional strategic consequences.
In reality, the decision represented a blank check offered to Putin, who intensified his hybrid and military attacks on the eastern flank of NATO. A series of drones entered the airspace of Romania, Poland, and Moldova shortly after the signal given by Donald Trump.
Pro-Russians accuse anti-Americanism in Bucharest
It is worth remembering that at the beginning of the year, we had a politician who rushed to Mar-a-Lago to play golf with Trump and posed with MAGA caps in the hope that the new American leader would help him become the President of Romania.
This refers to Victor Ponta, a former declared progressive, overnight transformed into a populist-nationalist, who filled social networks with odes dedicated to the American president, now posting AI cats on Facebook announcing the new year.
Also, let's remember that we had a Prime Minister, namely Marcel Ciolacu, who hired an adventurer, Dragoș Sprânceană, to represent Romania's interests with Donald Trump, undermining the authority of the then Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emil Hurezeanu, and the prestige, as much as it remained, of Romanian diplomacy.
Finally, after a period in which Romanian leaders lamented that Americans no longer love us, and pro-Russian networks in Bucharest pumped propaganda whipping a large part of public opinion, accusing it of anti-Americanism, our country is starting to emerge from the hangover caused by Trump's intoxication and understand that there are many other people in the USA, in positions of power, who respect and love Romania, even if the current president has a different opinion.
Vance's attack was not forgotten
Nicusor Dan, the President of Romania, put the point on the "i," stating in an interview for Politico that "...it is okay for American politicians to express their opinions," but it would be a problem if the USA were to "influence politics in an undemocratic manner" — for example, by paying the media "as the Russians do."
The reference of the head of state is quite clear, being a subtle criticism of JD Vance for the attack in February, at Munich, but also of the political campaigns promoted by Elon Musk and several American influencers against our country, which exactly matched Moscow's rhetoric.
The world has changed. We have moved from a somewhat moral way of doing things to a very pragmatic and economic way of doing things.
Nicusor Dan, Politico interview, on international relations during Donald Trump's time
After this interview, there are many chances that Nicușor Dan will not make it to Washington in early spring, as previously announced, but after the disaster caused by Trump in the relationship with the European Union and the United Kingdom, it does not matter much anymore.
Fewer and fewer friends
Donald Trump has quickly moved beyond the peak of his power, his star beginning to decline. Rarely has an American president become so unpopular in less than a year in office, reaching support below 40%, according to several sociological studies.
Meanwhile, Romanian diplomacy has returned to what it has done best in the last three decades in its relationship with the USA - intensely communicating with the US embassy in Bucharest, cultivating relationships with senators and representatives of Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, showing its readiness to remain a consistent and credible partner of the USA, in any situation, even in a war scenario, such as in Iraq and Afghanistan.
And this is no small feat in the current context, where America has fewer and fewer friends.