Imagine it’s 1995 – someone says that in 30 years, the US will lose its credibility internationally, abandon its allies, engage in trade wars with key partners, and shift its foreign policy to align with Russia due to the election of a self-centered incompetent as President. How would you respond?
My reply would probably be something like this: “That sounds far-fetched, but I guess anything is possible in politics. I can’t imagine the U.S. turning away from its traditional allies or engaging in trade wars—we’ve built so many partnerships over the years. And aligning with Russia? That seems unlikely given our history. It’s hard to imagine any leader being able to completely shift the dynamics we’ve worked so hard to establish. But I suppose we’ve seen unexpected things happen before, so who knows what the future holds?”