[IMPORTANT: Make this 4 times longer with much more detail]
Argument An expert’s point of view on a current event. How the United States Can Regain the World’s Trust Four steps the country’s next generation of leaders should be thinking about. Walt-Steve-foreign-policy-columnist20 Stephen M. Walt By Stephen M. Walt , a columnist at Foreign Policy and the Robert and Renée Belfer professor of international relations at Harvard University. The U.S. flag over the White House is lowered to half-staff. The U.S. flag over the White House is lowered to half-staff in Washington on Dec. 30, 2024, following the death of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images My FP: Follow topics and authors to get straight to what you like. Exclusively for FP subscribers. Subscribe Now | Log In Foreign & Public Diplomacy Politics United States Stephen M. Walt April 21, 2025, 3:00 AM Comment icon View Comments ( 3 ) Sensible people around the world are reeling from the Trump administration’s first three months in office. It’s not just the chaotic dismantling of key U.S. government institutions, the assault on higher education, the shakedowns directed at prominent law firms, the blatant disregard for due process and defiance of court orders, the personal vendettas directed against individuals the president dislikes, and the on-again, off-again imposition of tariffs against adversaries, allies, and those evil, anti-American penguins . It is also the increasingly evident incompetence of the loyalists Donald Trump appointed to advance his autocratic ambitions. The impacts on America’s reputation for stability and trustworthiness were immediate. Tremors in the once rock-solid market for U.S. Treasury bonds led Mark Blyth of Brown University to tell the New York Times , correctly: “The whole world has decided that the U.S. government has no idea what it’s doing.” Or as my colleague Jason Furman told CNN: “The U.S. right now is an incredibly unreliable partner to anyone in the world, and I don’t know how we are going to get back to being reliable.” Sensible people around the world are reeling from the Trump administration’s first three months in office. It’s not just the chaotic dismantling of key U.S. government institutions, the assault on higher education, the shakedowns directed at prominent law firms, the blatant disregard for due process and defiance of court orders, the personal vendettas directed against individuals the president dislikes, and the on-again, off-again imposition of tariffs against adversaries, allies, and those evil, anti-American penguins . It is also the increasingly evident incompetence of the loyalists Donald Trump appointed to advance his autocratic ambitions. The impacts on America’s reputation for stability and trustworthiness were immediate. Tremors in the once rock-solid market for U.S. Treasury bonds led Mark Blyth of Brown University to tell the New York Times , correctly: “The whole world has decided that the U.S. government has no idea what it’s doing.” Or as my colleague Jason Furman told CNN: “The U.S. right now is an incredibly unreliable partner to anyone in the world, and I don’t know how we are going to get back to being reliable.” Trending Articles Democrats Demand That White House Return Abrego Garcia to U.S. Despite a Supreme Court order, the White House remains opposed to facilitating the Maryland resident’s release. Powered By Advertisement Democrats Demand That White House Return Abrego Garcia to U.S. X That’s a very good question. Trump will not be president forever, and future U.S. leaders may want to restore a degree of trust with formerly friendly governments, the business community at home and abroad, and most of the American people. But trust once shattered can be hard to rebuild. How might a more responsible set of leaders regain a reputation for reliability? It’s not going to be easy. Back in 2021, restoring confidence in U.S. trustworthiness was fairly simple because Joe Biden was a familiar figure whose commitment to working with other states was well established. U.S. partners could also tell themselves that Trump’s first term was a bizarre accident that wouldn’t be repeated; surely Americans wouldn’t vote for another four years of Trump-centered chaos? Unfortunately, Trump’s reelection in 2024—after he had tried to subvert the election result in 2020 and was found guilty of several felonies—makes it harder for outsiders to see what is happening today as an aberration. When the prime minister of Canada says , with visible regret, that “the old relationship we had with the United States, based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation, is over,” it’s clear the problem goes deeper than just one person. For students of international relations out there, this is the familiar “ commitment problem ” in a nutshell. As long as the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement enjoys significant support from a substantial fraction of Americans, other states have reason to worry that the United States will do crazy and harmful things to others and to itself. Even after Trump is gone, he could be replaced by someone with similar views—a possibility that will never be far from the minds of other countries. But let’s take the long view and assume that Trumpism isn’t permanent. What steps could a future president and cabinet take to restore a degree of trust in U.S. judgment and reliability? Here are four suggestions. First, admit they were wrong. When states do stupid and harmful things to others (and themselves), it helps repair relations if they acknowledge their errors openly. Apologizing for past mistakes signals to others that you’ve learned from the experience and that you are therefore less likely to make the same mistake again. And you can’t just say it once and move on: You need to make it clear to others that you understand what went wrong and why it was harmful. Post-World War II Germany repaired its relations with the rest of Europe by forthrightly acknowledging the wrongs of the Nazi era; by contrast, Japan was less forthcoming after World War II and its relations with its neighbors, while improved, remain more fragile. Crafting effective apologies can be a tricky process —going too far can provoke a counterproductive backlash back home—but if future presidents pretend their predecessors did nothing wrong, it isn’t going to convince anyone. It will help a lot if some of the voices expressing regret for the current mess are Republicans. Democrats should welcome anyone willing to change their minds and shift positions and not waste time and effort dunking on them. None of us is infallible, and neither political party has a monopoly on wisdom. Getting past this episode, and convincing the rest of the world that the country means it, will require bipartisan buy-in. Second, a future administration should pursue new arrangements with others that are manifestly in America’s self-interest while recognizing that it won’t get everything it wants and that others will have to have some of their interests satisfied, too. Trust is a scarce commodity in international affairs, but states are more likely to believe that you’ll stick to your commitments if they can see that doing so is really in your interest. It’s much harder to convince them that you’ll fulfill a commitment that might leave you worse off. (This is why “extended deterrence” is hard to do.) This is also why so many people, including me, didn’t believe Trump would really go ahead with his foolish trade war. This feature doesn’t guarantee that a state will do what it has promised, but it does make it more likely. Please note: I’m not suggesting that a future administration try to turn the clock back to 2024. The world will be in a different place by the time they get a chance and the pre-2024 order was far from perfect. NATO was overdue an overhaul, for example, with Europe taking greater responsibility for its own defense and the United States shifting more resources to Asia. But negotiating a new trans-Atlantic division of labor is one thing; treating most of Europe as if it were an adversary makes no sense at all. Trans-Atlantic relations are going to be permanently altered, but future U.S. presidents should make clear that they still want cooperative economic and security relations with fellow democracies and are willing to work with them to craft mutually beneficial commitments. Read More U.S. President Donald Trump gives a thumbs-up upon arrival at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland after spending the weekend at Mar-a-Lago. How to Ruin a Country A step-by-step guide to Donald Trump’s destruction of U.S. foreign policy. Argument | Stephen M. Walt Three people are out of focus in a hallway while speaking to each other. On the left, in focus, is a sign that translates to Directorate-General for External Security. Europe Wonders if Trump Can Be Trusted With Intelligence Long-standing alliances are threatened by a chaotic White House. Analysis | Luke McGee Xi, wearing a suit, holds up a glass of red wine. Trump’s Tariffs Are a Gift to Xi Despite the steep tax on China, the U.S.-led economic roller coaster could work out in Beijing’s favor. Argument | Howard W. French Third, rebuilding trust will be easier if future presidents appoint senior officials who are obviously qualified for the positions they hold and respected by their foreign counterparts and if they establish a disciplined and coherent policymaking process. This sounds obvious, even trite, but it’s clearly not something one can take for granted anymore. Other states will place more trust in U.S. judgment if they are confident that the people in charge know what they are doing and aren’t making important stuff up on the fly. Conflicts of interest will still arise, of course, and even close allies will sometimes object to specific U.S. decisions (and vice versa). But they will be less worried that their fates are subject to presidential whims or amateur-hour policy antics . Fourth, and perhaps most important, the people who are gleefully torching America’s reputation for trustworthiness and competence today must be held accountable. To be fair, accountability has been in short supply in the United States for a long time, which is why the architects of past foreign-policy debacles and economic malpractice remain respected members of the establishment. This lack of accountability opened the door for Trump’s faux populism and his own attacks on elites in both parties. Sign up for Editors’ Picks A curated selection of FP’s must-read stories. Sign Up By submitting your email, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and to receive email correspondence from us. You may opt out at any time. Enter your email Sign Up ✓ Signed Up You’re on the list! More ways to stay updated on global news: FP Live Enter your email Sign Up ✓ Signed Up World Brief Enter your email Sign Up ✓ Signed Up China Brief Enter your email Sign Up ✓ Signed Up South Asia Brief Enter your email Sign Up ✓ Signed Up Situation Report Enter your email Sign Up ✓ Signed Up View All Newsletters To be clear, I am not proposing a post-Trump vendetta akin to the one he is trying to inflict on anyone who has angered him . If administration officials have broken the law, however, they should be prosecuted and given the due process they are denying to others . If they have acted legally but have nonetheless done great harm, however, then ideally they would not be rewarded with lucrative speaking opportunities, cushy sinecures at think tanks or universities, or media platforms. The more marginalized they are in the future, the more reason other states will have to believe that the United States has learned the right lessons. I have no illusions here. It’s a free country—at least for the moment—and there are a lot of different opinions within it. One can’t prevent Fox News from platforming former Trump officials or keep Elon Musk, the Heritage Foundation, or various industry lobbies from hiring as many of these folks as they can afford, and I wouldn’t try to stop them. It’s also worth remembering that Trump won a plurality of votes in 2024 and still has significant (but sharply declining) public support . Even so, convincing the rest of the world that the current madness won’t be repeated may depend on showing that one can’t try to end U.S. democracy, leave millions of Americans poorer , and make the country significantly weaker without suffering any personal consequences whatsoever. Unfortunately, the need for some measure of accountability may create a worrisome paradox. The greater the policy blunders or crimes committed by the Trump administration, the greater their incentive to stay in office forever. It is the same problem that has led other democratically elected but illiberal leaders—think of Viktor Orban in Hungary, Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey, or Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel—to cling to power by any means necessary because they may have to face justice if they relinquish it. Ultimately, both the future of U.S. democracy and the ability of future U.S. leaders to establish enduring bonds of trust with other countries may depend on whether Americans across the political spectrum recognize the damage Trump and the MAGA radicals are doing and eventually succeed in relegating them to the margins of political life. Stephen M. Walt is a columnist at Foreign Policy and the Robert and Renée Belfer professor of international relations at Harvard University. Bluesky: @stephenwalt.bsky.social X: @stephenwalt Read More On Alliances | Donald Trump | Foreign & Public Diplomacy | Politics | United States Join the Conversation Commenting on this and other recent articles is just one benefit of a Foreign Policy subscription. Already a subscriber? Log In . Subscribe Subscribe View 3 Comments Join the Conversation Join the conversation on this and other recent Foreign Policy articles when you subscribe now. Subscribe Subscribe Not your account? Log out View 3 Comments Join the Conversation Please follow our comment guidelines , stay on topic, and be civil, courteous, and respectful of others’ beliefs. You are commenting as . Change your username | Log out Change your username: Username I agree to abide by FP’s comment guidelines . (Required) Confirm CANCEL Confirm your username to get started. The default username below has been generated using the first name and last initial on your FP subscriber account. Usernames may be updated at any time and must not contain inappropriate or offensive language. Username I agree to abide by FP’s comment guidelines . (Required) Confirm
