He writes that Trump is the most anti-American president in US history, and if during his first presidential term (January 2017 – January 2021) Trump’s “worst anti-American tendencies and intellectual laziness” were restrained by serious advisers, then during his second term in the White House there is no one to restrain it, because Trump “surrounded himself with sycophants.”
The author of the material believes that Trump now runs the United States the same way he ran his companies – as a sole leader with “complete freedom to make terrible deals.”
Friedman recalled that Trump’s management style caused six bankruptcies of his companies, and now, according to the observer, all Americans are “shareholders” of Trump, who is “morally, if not financially and politically,” bankrupting the nation.
Describing Trump's behavior as reckless, self-centered and “blatantly contrary to American interests,” The New York Times wondered whether “America is now ruled by a mad king.”
As an example of such “madness,” the author of the material cites Trump’s appeal to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, in which the head of the White House, according to media reports, linked the desire to establish control over Greenland not receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. In this case, Trump says not “America first,” but “Me first,” expressing his readiness to sacrifice the 77-year existence of NATO, the journalist emphasizes.
In his opinion, Trump does not attach any importance to the “blood, money and energy” that generations of American soldiers, diplomats and presidents sacrificed to build a strong partnership between the United States and Europe.
The columnist believes that Trump does not understand an important thing that China and the aggressor country Russia understood – America’s competitive advantage. The Russian Federation and China had only vassals to whom they could give orders and exert pressure, while the United States had allies who shared common values and were ready for “difficult” decisions such as sending the military to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
