Economist Richard Wolff Discusses Trump & Suggests That This is the Beginning of the American Decline

Recently, I ran into an article which suggested that a growing number of Americans - particularly of the MAGA persuasion - are growing skeptical and distrustful of former allies, particularly Canada and western Europe. These used to be our closest allies, of course. But under Trump, all of that has changed, quickly and quite dramatically.

It seems like part of the orange Kool Aid which Trump is encouraging his supporters to drink is that the United States should be the center of the world. He claims to want to bring back manufacturing jobs. He claims that we should always and forever buy American first. 

The thing is, we do not live in a bubble. The world is a complicated place. And like it or not, we are interdepenent with people all over the world, and pretty much always ahve been. That's the way that things are, and long have been. Our collective living standards have improved dramatically as a result of this, whether or not we like the idea. 

Yet, Trump seems intent on isolating the United States from the rest of the world. Turning his back on traditional allies and friends, and almost making a point of insulting them (unless you think that Canadians like having their nation undermined as not real, and suggesting that it will be the 51st State, or that Greenlanders actually want Trump to take over the island, when polls show that 85% of people on that island want nothing to do with the United States, and especially Trump). So clearly, he is not just turning his back on friends, but actively antagonizing them. 

Here's the thing: having allies and friends is not a bad idea. It's a good thing, isn't it? Why wouldn't you want friends?

Also, I suspect that we need friends more now than ever before. After all, BRICS is an organized group of nations which was designed specifically to counter Western - and particularly American - economic dominance and influence. Combined, the countries that BRICS originally consisted of - Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa - can compete with the United States. Now, other large nations have joined, including Indonesia and Pakistan, as well as Saudi Arabia. Those are countries that hold serious economic sway. More combined, in fact, than the United States by itself has.

In short, we might need friends now more than ever. 

So why make such a point of pissing friends off, and isolating ourselves?

This indeed might be the beginning of the end of our superpower status.

And we can't exactly say that we were not asking for this. After all, nobody forced us to put Donald Trump and his MAGA cult in charge, and implement Project 2025. 

"American Empire Is in Decline": Economist Richard Wolff on Trump's Trade War & Tariffs