M Santhananaban
The narrative Donald Trump has projected of his great nation since the start of his second term is a nasty, self-serving and narcissistic one.
The US president has come across as a bullying, belligerent and overbearing leader with brazen instincts and rhetoric.
Together with his inner circle – a vacuous Vice-President JD Vance, an overstretched Secretary of State Marco Rubio and a headstrong Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth – Trump seems to have lost touch with reality.
These men have given the US a bad name and steered it in a troubling direction.
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The damage the US has inflicted on Afghanistan, Libya, Iran, Iraq, Vietnam and parts of Africa should not be overlooked. Cuba, Iran, Lebanon and Venezuela are among the better-known recent targets of the administration’s destructive policies.
Imported energy-dependent nations are all suffering. Some have been badly hit. Other countries are also reeling from higher food, fertiliser and freight costs.
The most troubling development, however, remains the ongoing US-Israeli war against Iran and Lebanon and, by extension, against the rest of the world.
The Iran ceasefire, brokered by Pakistan on 8 April, remains fragile and contested. Strikes have resumed, and the narratives coming out of the White House are clearly inconsistent and often not credible.
The initial swagger and boastful optimism of a unilateral declaration of US success are fading.
Against this backdrop, a clearly battered Trump is heading to China – to Beijing, specifically – to meet President Xi Jinping on 14–15 May. The visit has been widely seen as, at best, a modest step towards greater stability and predictability in the world’s most important bilateral relationship.
But Trump does not arrive on his own terms. He arrives on the back foot.
The White House’s messaging on the war has been neither consistent nor credible. Can Trump realistically hope to salvage the United States’ battered reputation? Or will the Beijing summit amount to little more than hot air?
The Chinese leadership will offer a grand banquet, a genuine hearing and a gracious welcome. Beijing’s subtle message is likely to be plain: sort it out diplomatically. China wants peace and stability, and it expects Washington to deliver.
No doubt we can expect Trump’s tall tales of yet another “successful” mission. Whether the rest of the world will be impressed is another matter.
Dato M’ Santhananaban is a former Malaysian ambassador with 45 years of public sector experience.
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I would like to add Chilie in 1973 to the list of countries the US has inflicted damage.