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 for a world without U.S. leadership. Canada—America’s second largest trading partner—is proof that no country is safe. Trump has declared economic warfare on Canada with tariffs big enough to cripple its economy, and he has repeatedly threatened to make America’s northern neighbor the 51st state. He recently called the leadership of Canada “nasty.”
Nor is Canada alone. Denmark has faced American threats to seize Greenland. After Spain followed international law instead of Washington’s dictates and declined to join the war on Iran, Trump called the country “a wasted cause” and a “terrible partner.” At a press conference at the July NATO summit at Ankara, he told Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, “We don’t want to do any trade business with Spain anymore…. I’d like you to cut it off…. I don’t want anything to do with Spain. Cut off all trade with Spain, please, including visits.”
The American friends who paid the highest price for the war on Iran are those who lie within easy striking distance of Tehran. The Gulf states lobbied Washington not to start the war. They are furious that their warnings were brushed aside and that the U.S., after sparking a regional war, failed to protect them.
The Gulf countries paid a heavy price for being America’s friends. Like many Western nations, they are looking beyond the American security umbrella and toward diversification. Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey signed a mutual defense pact.
Oman, in particular, has felt the sting of a betrayed friendship. The Gulf country has an uninterrupted history of good relations with the United States. It has frequently facilitated diplomacy and helped to get Washington out of jams. Over a decade ago, Oman helped the Obama administration secure a nuclear deal with Iran. It mediated a ceasefire between the U.S. and the Yemeni Houthis last year. Most recently, Oman has played an indispensable role in mediating between Washington and Tehran in the current conflict.
Nevertheless, Trump has twice threatened to bomb Oman. In May, Trump warned that Oman had to “behave just like everybody else, or we will have to blow them up.” On that occasion, the president seemed to be angry with Oman because it had entered into negotiations with Tehran about the countries’ joint control of the Strait of Hormuz. Those progressing discussions with Iran that led a frustrated Trump to threaten again this month, “If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the s**t out of them.”
South Korea is another key partner feeling the pains of friendship with America, having become the target of Trump’s wrath, ostensibly over the war in Iran. The country is a linchpin of America’s defense strategy in Asia and has a 72-year-old mutual defense treaty with Washington. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth recently called South Korea a “model ally.” Camp Humphreys, in Pyeongtaek, is the headquarters of United States Forces Korea and is the largest overseas American military base in the world.
Nonetheless, Trump recently announced he had instructed Hegseth “to substantially reduce the Joint Military Exercises” being held with the Asian ally. Trump listed several reasons for the decision: South Korea denying his request to join “in the Denuclearization of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Trump’s “very good relationship with Kim Jong Un, of North Korea,” and the “hostile” message the exercises send to Pyongyang. The last reason is fair. The first two are not.
Contra Trump’s insistence that North Korea “has been unthreatening and respectful,” it has most recently sided against the U.S. by providing military aid to Russia in its war against Ukraine. Additionally, Pyongyang has conducted several ballistic missile tests, including just days before Trump’s announcement, and expanded its nuclear weapons program. Trump’s surprise announcement induced significant uncertainty in South Korea and prompted its president to call for an accelerated push for military independence from America.
In just the past few weeks, Trump has flagrantly broken trust with U.S. partners. He reneged on a promise to allow Ukraine to manufacture Patriot interceptors, explaining that “those people you give the technology, they could someday turn on you.” And he altered the terms of a nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia the day after it was signed, demanding that the kingdom normalize relations with Israel before the agreement could take effect. That’s probably a nonstarter for Saudi Arabia.
Trump has fulfilled Kissinger’s warning about the dangers of being America’s friend. In the process, he has jeopardized U.S. leadership while making the world a more dangerous place.
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