Reference News Network, January 20 report: The German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung website published an article titled "Lessons from a Year of Trump's Administration" on January 15. The author is Klaus-Dieter Frankenberger, a non-resident senior researcher at the US-German Institute. The article excerpts are as follows:
Recently, German President Steinmeier expressed deep concerns about the state of the world order, stating that it cannot be allowed to continue to collapse. Although Steinmeier did not directly name any "bandits," his remarks clearly pointed to the United States under Trump's leadership.
When talking about the historical turning point of our era, his words became more explicit: "In fact, this also includes our most important partner, the United States, abandoning its values."
The remarks of Stephen Miller, White House Deputy Chief of Staff, exactly confirmed Steinmeier's judgment. Miller claimed that international law and international rules are just minor issues, and the current world is dominated by strength, violence, and power. As a "loud voice" in the American government, Miller despises international law and firmly opposes the United States being bound by it. In the first year of the second term of the "America First" president, the world has witnessed what "destruction" means, from domestic affairs to foreign policy, from substance to style.
Many of Trump's actions since January 20, 2025, were already evident in his inaugural speech: territorial expansion, bidding farewell to the rule-based order, viewing tariffs as a universal weapon, reviving the glory of great powers; ending inclusiveness, cutting back or even destroying the national machine, using militarized measures to combat (illegal) immigration, and retaliating against political opponents.
Although Trump initially announced the termination of his predecessor's reform agenda in the Middle East and promised to abandon military intervention and "regime change" ambitions, he still took action: he ordered airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and Houthi rebel positions in Yemen, even threatening military intervention against Iran, and imposed sanctions on Iran's trade partners.
Especially in the "Western Hemisphere," the United States claims an undisputed dominant position: Trump has long coveted Canada, the Panama Canal, and Venezuela. Before sending special forces to forcibly control the Venezuelan president, he justified his military deployment under the pretext of combating "drug terrorism." After the operation succeeded, all he saw was the country's oil resources. He also issued threats to Colombia and Cuba.
Now, when Trump claims to want to incorporate Greenland into the American territory, no one sees it as a wild idea anymore.
Trump shows little interest in alliances. NATO partners and EU member states have experienced this firsthand—besides being subjected to false accusations, they have also been mocked and looked down upon by this president.
In the first year of Trump's second term, multilateralism continued to suffer severe damage. The rule-based order will now have to operate without the participation of the United States. Recently, the United States announced its withdrawal from more than 60 international organizations. Trump no longer wants to bear the "burden" of being the world's policeman, but only wants short-term interventions when it can leverage military superiority and expects pure commercial returns.
The damage done to America's credibility, reliability, and predictability is difficult to repair. (Translated by Jiao Yu)
Original: toutiao.com/article/7597327411205653007/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.