first post election EU move.
This is the real danger of Trump: that countries the world over will bend the knee to other autocrats in the absence of American soft power.
Democracy is overrated. Makes it easier for CIA to dominate foreign countries. Even if you believe other bullies exist in the world, they are always weaker than US bully, and need to give better deals to have influence.
You are right that quiet CIA handling of all democratic ally politicians will be undermined by Trump threats and boisterous diminishment of allies. Biden destroyed the economies of the most subservient allies. Countries with independence from US influence grew much faster after Ukraine war. The US economy under Biden was actually quite exceptional due to that “soft power” dominance.
