Friendship With Trump’s America Can Be Fatal

Foreign Affairs The Iran War has undermined key U.S. partnerships. Samuel Corum / Sipa / Bloomberg via Getty Images Henry Kissinger famously (if apocryphally) said, “It may be dangerous to be America’s enemy, but to be America’s friend is fatal.” This may be the year the world finally got the message. President Donald Trump said he wanted his legacy to be “the wars that we end—and perhaps most importantly, the wars we never get into.” It won’t be. Instead, he will be remembered by history as the president who squandered trust in and respect for Washington and brought the post–Cold War era of American hegemony to an end. Trump’s America leads by threats, punishments, and broken promises. It leads for its own short-term benefit and is followed out of fear. Other NATO members are preparing fo