It’s no secret that U.S. President Donald Trump values the appearance of toughness above almost anything else. When Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who visited the White House last week, told reporters that he had found the Trump he saw on television to be “frightening,” Trump could barely conceal a grin of satisfaction. When Ishiba added that in person he found Trump to be “powerful and strong willed,” Trump seemed downright delighted.
Perhaps that preoccupation with toughness explains why Trump appears to have no interest whatsoever in soft power. In fact, one wonders if a different name, maybe “smart power,” would have made him think twice before setting out on policies that are steadily dismantling what is one of Washington’s most effective foreign policy tools: its ability to influence other countries and enjoy international support by the sheer force of the goodwill it engenders around the world.
Instead, since taking office on Jan. 20, Trump and his administration have been pursuing policies that may intimidate other global leaders, but also diminish positive feelings toward the U.S. in the eyes of the world. That undoubtedly delights Washington’s key rival, China, as well as other countries that would like to see the U.S. lose the influence and respect it has built up over the decades.