Trump has never been the leader of the free world. The world has received the message

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. presidents routinely claim at least lip service to being the leaders of the free world, leading powerful democracy and a military force around which allies around the world can rally and from which they can reasonably count on reciprocal support.

Not so under President-elect Donald Trump, who has criticized many existing US alliances, whose victory for a second term This week, close European partners called for a new era of self-reliance not dependent on American goodwill.

“We should not delegate our security to America forever,” French President Emmanuel Macron announced this at the European summit. Thursday.

Judging by Trump’s first term and campaign statements, the US will become less predictable, more chaotic, colder towards allies and warm to some strongmenand much more transactional in choosing friends around the world than before. America’s Place in World Affairs and security will change fundamentally, Trump critics and supporters alike say.

His supporters say he will simply be more selective about alliances and battles with the United States than previous presidents.

When it comes to the US role on the world stage, there is no more talk about the country as the leader of the free world, said Fiona Hill, a former Russia adviser to Trump and previous US presidents.

Maybe “a world free for all, his leadership?” Hill suggested in a recent European Council on Foreign Relations Podcast. “I mean, what exactly are we going to run here?”

Trump with varying degrees of consistency criticize NATO And support for Ukraine and Taiwan, two threatened democracies that depend on U.S. military support to counter Russia and China.

Trump has shown little interest in the U.S.’s longstanding role as the anchor of strategic alliances with European and Indo-Pacific democracies. Even before the elections there were already partners and opponents re-evaluating your security measures in preparation for Trump’s possible return.

European allies in particular have stepped up efforts to strengthen their own and regional defenses rather than relying on USA as NATO anchormutual defense pact, which both Trump and his vice-presidential candidate J.D. Vance were scathing about. Hours after Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris this week, the defense chiefs of France and Germany planned talks to deal with the fallout.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin They appear to be forming military strategies in the hope that Trump will give them more freedom of action.

Victoria Coates, Trump’s security adviser during his first term, rejects any portrayal of him as an isolationist.

“I think he’s extremely thoughtful about the use of American military forces and about potentially getting drawn into conflicts that we can’t resolve,” she said recently on a security podcast.

As evidence of his global involvement, Coates pointed to Trump’s support for Israel how do they pay wars against Iran-backed militant groups in Gaza and Lebanon.

She called Iran’s nuclear program the “biggest problem” abroad and suggested that its progress toward nuclear weapons capability meant Trump may have to act more decisively than in his first term, when he tightened sanctions on Iran as part of a so-called “maximum pressure” campaign.

Trump, long time ago open fan of Putinmost consistently pointed to US support for Ukraine in a possible change in policy.

Philip Breedlove, a former Air Force general and senior NATO commander, said he sees both positive expectations and deep concerns for Ukraine and NATO in the next four years under Trump.

While Trump’s rhetoric toward NATO during his first administration was often harsh, it did not lead to any actual reduction of U.S. troops in Europe or a decline in support for the alliance, Breedlove said. AND 23 NATO countries spend at least 2% their gross domestic product for defense, up from 10 in 2020, a figure that now belies Trump’s constant complaints.

Even more troubling, Breedlove said, is Trump’s promise to immediately end the war in Ukraine.

While this goal is noble, “ending wars on suitable terms is one thing. Surrendering to an enemy to stop a conflict is another matter. And that’s what worries me,” Breedlove said.

He and others warned that ending the war, which would give Russia additional territory in Ukraine, would set a bad precedent. European countries fear this will embolden Putin to go after them.

So do supporters of Taiwan, a democratically governed island that China has said it will one day annex, by force if necessary. Trump hesitated from saying Taiwan must pay US for defense support to the claim that he can persuade Chinese President Xi Jinping not to threaten Taiwan.

“One thing that makes me nervous about Trump in relation to the Taiwan Strait is his confidence in unpredictability, his confidence that he will be something of a chaotic actor in a situation that is delicately balanced,” Paul Nadeau said. Associate Professor of the Department. international relations and political science on the Temple University campus in Japan.

The situation is “which requires a deep understanding of very subtle signals between Taiwan, between the United States and China,” Nadeau said.

The world Trump faces has also changed: Russia, North Korea, Iran and China continue to consolidate into free, opportunistic union oppose the West and especially the USA.

Where the US has left, Russia, China and sometimes Iran have rapidly expanded their influence, including in the Middle East.

During his first term, Trump repeatedly vowed to withdraw all U.S. troops from Iraq and Syria, at times stunning Pentagon officials with surprise statements and tweets that left officials scrambling for answers.

Reactions from some Republican lawmakers and counterproposals from U.S. military leaders have slowed progress on those plans, including proposals that some U.S. troops should remain in Syria to protect oil facilities. The US still has about 900 troops in Syria who could fall under Trump’s rule.

The number of US troops in Iraq is already declining based on a new agreement between the Biden administration and Baghdad. This plan will complete the US-led coalition’s mission to combat Islamic State group by next year, but will likely move at least some U.S. troops to northern Iraq to support the fight against IS in Syria.

Trump’s first term, followed by Joe Biden’s foreign policy increasingly consumed by unsuccessful efforts to achieve a ceasefire in the Middle East, has already prompted allies to talk about building up their own military power and smaller regional security alliances.

“Given the calculations, there will be less of the United States on the world stage than before,” Hill said. “There cannot be such a dangerous dependence on what is happening in Washington, D.C.”

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AP reporters Didi Tan and Tara Kopp in Washington and Ayaka McGill in Tokyo contributed.