***. “A reputation once broken may possibly be repaired, but the world will always keep their eyes on the spot where the crack was.” [ Joseph Hall ]
This post is the 8th in a series examining the conduct of Donald John Trump, unfortunately president of the United States. His character has often been declared deficient; and by some, “unfit for office.” He is often described as being “transactional.” He is a known liar. He is THE. anti-George Washington.
This post discusses the damage Trump has done, is doing, to America’s international reputation. He is damaging, if not destroying, decades of international good will felt toward America because of our generosity, our support of democracy, our “soft power.” It presents excerpts from: “America is depleting a more powerful weapon than its missiles” [ Max Hastings; St. Paul Pioneer Press; 4/5/26 ]:
10] “Truth is not merely a virtue. It is a weapon, which this administration has wantonly broken with its own hands, even as it wages a shooting war in which scarcely anybody save the Israelis sees merit or reason.”
2] “..[it matters]..for a great nation to lose its reputation for trustworthiness, as the U.S. has done under Trump. It is impossible in the midst of a war to tell the whole truth. but it is worth a lot that “our side”. – whatever that might be. – should be more credible than the enemy.”
7] “…how low America’s standing has fallen. Yet this matters very much, not just for now or even the balance of Trump’s term, but for the future of the U.S. If it chooses to speak and behave in a way that is morally indistinguishable from that of its rival superpowers, why should other nations not choose China or Russia as partners, rather than America?”
1] “..my longer-term concern is the depletion. – indeed, exhaustion. – of another American weapon, which I think is more important than mere hardware: belief in the truth of what the leader of the U.S. tells the world about the war, peace and everything else.” [NOTE: lies on the international stage count for more than his 30-40,000 domestic lies, fabrications, half-truths, mistruths, etc.]
*** “National honor is national property of the highest value.” [ James Monroe; 5th U.S. President ]
3] A handbook given to U.S. soldiers landing in Britain during World War II told G.I.s: “We can defeat Hitler’s propaganda with a weapon of our own: plain, common horse sense; understanding of evident truths.”
4] “The gloating tones..[of Lord Haw Haw]…were not unlike those of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth describing the fate of Iranians under American bombardment.”
5] “Today Trump is assaulting the organs of truth, while peddling obvious lies, for instance his claim that a Tomahawk missile that apparently hit a Tehran school was Iranian….the head of the Federal Communications Commission, a Trump lackey, is threatening to withdraw the licenses of U.S. outlets that fail to broadcast t he administration’s fictional narrative of the war.”
***. “A reputation for good judgment, fair dealing, truth, and rectitude, is itself a fortune.” [ Henry Ward Beecher ]
6] “The White House’s standard-bearers would say. – privately at least. – that we now live in a post-truth world; that their MAGA people neither expect to be told what is real by their leaders, nor mind that they are lied to.”
8]. “It is extraordinarily dangerous for any country, however rich and dominant, to base its entire polity on a belief that it will forever enjoy military and economic superiority; that might alone can sustain its hegemony.”
9] “America is no longer seen, especially in Europe, as worthy of trust. To quote again that 1942 U.S. serviceman’s handbook: “It is militarily stupid to criticize your allies.” Even superpowers need friends yet America has few left who, after enduring so many insults from Washington, sincerely respect those in charge there, or believe what they say.”
[NOTE: read this again; then reflect on America’s conduct during WorldWar II and during the “Cold War.” America was on the winning side – BECAUSE. we made, had friends. America was on the winning side BECAUSE its “soft power’ attracted people. America rebuilt Europe, rebuilt its former WW II enemies – because it was “the right thing to do.” ]
*** “A transactional foreign policy is not what convinces people around the world to stand with America.”
[ Tom Malinowski ]
With Justice For All 