The World in the Trump Era - One on One with Strobe Talbott

The United States and the world?

We all know that Britain is exiting Europe. I’m concerned that the United States might be exiting from the world, unless it stops its bullying of other countries and goes back to being a world leader. If the United States continues to walk away from deals and agreements, it is going to be bad for everybody. The challenges that are out there include, certainly, Russia. Russia has gone back to its Soviet past, both with geopolitical aggression and also an ideology that is anathema to us in the Western world and those countries who are democratic. 

The United States under Trump’s presidency?

The name of our country happens to have the word “united” in it, and we’re not a very united nation now. I put much of the responsibility for that to my President, Donald Trump. He is a divider, he is a bully and he is very narcissistic.

Europe: strengths and weaknesses?

For decades, Europe showed the world that sovereign nations can construct a system that allows them to govern the entire continent with rules and norms and policies that help democracies. I know it doesn’t feel as a great success right now. For the last couple of years, there have been tensions and failures, and there has also been a pressure from the East. And now, unfortunately, there are pressures from the United States.