Anne Applebaum: ‘Hard to Underestimate’ the Degree To Which the Image of the U.S. As a Stable Partner Has Changed Radically

EXCERPT:

APPLEBAUM: “You know, we had a swing from Republicans to Democrats, but within a — within a band that outsiders could understand. And we’re now well outside of that, both in terms of attacks on the rule of law, attacks on independent institutions, wild tariffs that make no sense economically decided according to some weird formula. All of that makes people question whether this is still a stable country. Do you want to keep your money here? Do you want to own American bonds? Do you want to do business with United States? Do you want to build a factory in the United States if you don’t know what’s coming next, or what the tax regime or tariff regime will be next week or next month or next year? And I think that’s had a — it’s had both an economic impact and a kind of echo, you know, in many spheres, but also a political one, as people wonder, is the United States, if you’re an ally of the U.S., are you still an ally? if you’re an adversary, what will you do next? Can you do any negotiating or not? It’s really hard to underestimate the degree to which the image of the United States as a stable partner has changed radically in the last few months."