One of the most striking features of Donald Trump’s second administration is its willingness to trash decades of US soft power. The “America First” approach has little interest in winning or keeping friends, which it views mostly as freeloaders on US largesse. One demonstration is the threats of tariffs or force even against allies to coerce them into doing the administration’s bidding. Another is the suspension of billions of dollars of US foreign aid — and the assault on the agency that manages about two-thirds of the funds, USAID. This has thrown initiatives aimed at helping vulnerable people around the world into chaos, and is harming America’s own interests.
唐納•川普(Donald Trump)第二屆政府最引人注目的特點之一，就是其摧毀美國數十年軟實力的意願。「美國優先」方針對贏得或保持朋友的興趣不大，川普政府認爲他們大多是寄生在美國的慷慨之上。一個例證便是，這屆政府即使對盟友也會發出關稅或武力威脅，以迫使他們服從它的意願。另一個例證則是暫停數十億美元的美國對外援助，並攻擊管理約三分之二此類資金的機構——美國國際開發署(USAID)。這使得旨在幫助世界各地弱勢羣體的計劃陷入混亂，並損害了美國自身的利益。