Trump Pandemic Response Turns ‘America First’ Into America Last
Alcuni stralci da Bloomberg di oggi.
Donald Trump’s first weeks as president were marked by a travel ban -- one he imposed on seven Muslim-majority countries. Now with four months left until the next U.S. election and the coronavirus pandemic spiking at home, Americans are the ones barred from most overseas travel.
For critics of Trump’s “America First” worldview, there is bitter irony in this moment. They point to the new travel ban -- with other nations barring entry to U.S. citizens because of the virus -- as one of many symbols of America’s lost standing. There’s its inability to muster allies to its causes, the decision to quit the World Health Organization and the failure of its “maximum pressure” campaigns on North Korea, Iran and Venezuela to achieve their goals.
The U.S. economy is now expected to contract by almost 6% this year, while China is projected to eke out growth of almost 2%.
Couple that with Trump’s continued tariff threats against the European Union and new threats of sanctions on Germany for pressing ahead with the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, and allies are taking new precautions to protect themselves from the American economy, rather than seeking to take advantage of it.
After more than three years, the U.S.’s coercive economic diplomacy isn’t having much of an impact. Punishing sanctions regimes on Iran, Venezuela, Russia and North Korea have elicited little to no change in those countries’ behavior. And a tit-for-tat battle with China has made relations worse, not moderated Beijing’s behavior.
The White House’s plans for a trilateral meeting of North American trade partners this week fell apart when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declined to participate,
Asked how the White House thinks the rest of the world views the U.S. amid the European travel restrictions and the coronavirus outbreak, press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Monday, “I think the world is looking at us as a leader in Covid-19.” ( N.R ---si,certo gli americani li vogliono guardare da lontano ....)
A recent survey by the European Council on Foreign Relations found the majority of Europeans no longer see the U.S. as a reliable ally, with only 2% saying they found it “helpful” in the fight against the coronavirus.
Viva HK