It has been over a month now of the reelected Trump administration, in only a short time Donald Trump has managed to completely rewrite US foreign policy. Old allies are now possible enemies, old enemies are allies. There’s the possibility of the United States annexing and taking land by force, trade wars are on the rise and US soft power and global aid are now a thing of the past.

Shutting down USAID

Countries around the world are already feeling the impact of the Trump administration’s decision to eliminate more than 90% of foreign aid contracts and cut $60 billion in funding that provided humanitarian and development assistance to over 100 countries. President Trump has accused the agency of widespread waste and members of his administration have criticized the funding of programs that do not align with current US foreign policy goals.

Many of the programs are in fragile countries that are highly reliant on international aid to support health systems, nutrition programs and keep their populations from falling into famine. For example, In Ethiopia, food assistance has stopped for more than 1 million people, according to the Tigray Disaster Risk Management Commission. The Ministry of Health was also forced to terminate the contracts of 5,000 workers across the country focused on HIV and malaria prevention and vaccinations. In Bangladesh, 600,000 women and children will lose access to critical maternal health care, protection from violence, reproductive health services and other lifesaving care, according to the United Nations Population Fund.

The agency was set up by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 at the height of the Cold War. Its supporters say it helps save lives, strengthen civil society, assist the needy and promote and preserve democracy. It presented a gentler version of the US, as a global superpower that was willing to aid and help some of the world’s most vulnerable.

Warming ties with Russia and antagonizing Ukraine

Donald Trump made it clear from the outset of his reelection campaign that he would not assist Ukraine in the way the Biden administration had and would seek a peace deal with Russia. Just that has come to pass, with few surprised and many scrambling because of the manner in which Trump has been pursuing his stated goal of ending the Ukraine war. The now infamous clash between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Donald Trump plunged ties between Kyiv and Washington to a new low. Ukraine had received strong support from the previous administration including funding, weapons and a promise of a pathway to NATO membership. All of which are now no longer in the cards for Ukraine with the Trump administration.

The Trump administration has pushed for a minerals deal with Ukraine, citing the billions given to the country to fight against Russian forces over the course of the war as the reason. The proposed deal would give the US wide access to rare earth minerals in Ukraine as repayment. The US, since the change of administrations, has twice sided with Russia in votes at the United Nations to mark the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.  First joining Russia in voting against a Europe-backed Ukrainian support resolution. Then abstaining from voting on the US’ own resolution after Europeans amended it to be more critical of Moscow. Trump has called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “dictator,” falsely accused Kyiv of starting the war and warned that Zelensky “better move fast” to negotiate an end to the conflict or risk not having a nation anymore.

Trump’s plan to take over Gaza

Since returning to office, the new US president has made several alarming threats regarding the annexation of foreign territories. In his inaugural address, he even declared that the United States would expand its borders during his second term. One of his more hostile proposals involves ethnically cleansing (moving) 2.1 million Palestinians out or  Gaza and transforming the strip into a “Riviera” to be owned by the United States. This plan has  met with support from Far-Right Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who constantly threatens to resume the war in Gaza at any moment.

In response to Trump’s plan to “own” Gaza, Arab leaders gathered last month in Riyadh to devise a collective plan. Neighboring countries are deeply concerned about the potential ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, who would not be allowed to return and are expected to be absorbed into the populations of surrounding nations. The leaders are set to meet again in Cairo this March to finalize their strategy, which they will likely present to Trump. Additionally Israel has been expanding its hold over territory in Syria after the fall of the Assad regime and has ramped up activity in the West Bank in preparation for annexation. Trump refused to guarantee that Israel would not annex the occupied West Bank.

Trump and Latin America

In his first term Trump created a less than favorable relationship with many of the US’ Latin American neighbors, and this time around appears to be no different. Trump devoted a significant part of his inaugural address to demanding that Panama return control of the Panama Canal to the US, threatening to take it by force if it wasn’t handed over. Less than a week into his presidency, he threatened tariffs and visa restrictions on Colombia, a longtime close US ally, after the country’s president, Gustavo Petro, blocked military aircraft from returning migrants deported from the United States. Later Trump’s “envoy for special missions” Richard Grenell traveled to Venezuela. There he met with the country’s autocratic president, Nicolás Maduro, who is not even recognized as the country’s legitimate leader by the US government, and reached an agreement for the country to accept Venezuelan deportees. Donald Trump has also continued antagonizing Mexico with actions such as renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, threatening and imposing tariffs and beginning military activity such as flying reaper drones within Mexican territory.

Trump visas

Trump unveiled a new pathway to citizenship, a “gold card” aimed at wealthy foreigners who are willing to pay millions for the right to live in the US. The new program comes as the Trump administration moves to change the country’s rules for who can legally live, work and gain citizenship in the US. The administration’s plans include tightening restrictions on many types of immigration in the US and pushing to end birthright citizenship, the constitutionally protected right to citizenship for anyone born on US soil. When asked by reporters if Russian oligarchs could qualify for the visa,  Trump responded, “Possibly… Hey, I know some Russian oligarchs that are very nice people. It’s possible. They’re not as wealthy as they used to be. I think they could afford $5 million”.

Tariffs

New 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada have taken effect after being implemented by the Trump administration. The move could upend nearly $2.2 trillion in annual trade between the countries.Trump declared that the tariffs were necessary because the US’ top trading partners had failed to do enough to stem the flow of fentanyl and its precursor chemicals into the US. Both Mexico and Canada have announced retaliatory tariffs on the United States. Trudeau warned that a trade war would be costly for both countries. Trump has announced he would move ahead on April 2nd with plans for reciprocal tariffs on any countries around the world that he sees as treating the US unfairly.

Conclusion

These actions reflect Trump’s overarching foreign policy goal of prioritizing American interests, often at the expense of traditional alliances and multilateral cooperation. Trump has been very active on the global stage but is making enemies out of old allies and causing rifts that may change those allyships and friendly relations forever. The US’ image, influence and credibility on the world stage has been greatly altered again for a second time and it is unlikely that it will ever recover. Trump has sped up the clock on a non-US dominated world as more countries become wary of working with the United States under Donald Trump.