Trump’s Diplomacy Is America’s Weakness
Trump’s fantasy of commanding the world with bluster is collapsing. As Xi, Putin, and Modi gather strength, America risks isolation, irrelevance, and danger under his failed foreign policy.
Guest article by Michael Cohen
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President Trump thinks foreign policy works the same way he ran the Trump Organization: walk into the room, declare yourself the boss, and everyone falls in line. That might have worked in a boardroom stacked with sycophants and family members, but on the global stage it’s a completely different story. The world doesn’t bend to Trump’s ego. And now, as Putin, Xi, and Modi convene in Tianjin under the banner of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), America finds itself sidelined in a way that should terrify us all.
In July 2024, Xi Jinping said, “No mountain or ocean can distance people who have shared aspirations.” At the time, it sounded like some empty Chinese rhetoric. Modi didn’t even show up to the SCO summit that year. But fast-forward twelve months, and Trump’s tariffs—50 percent on Indian goods—have pushed India straight into Beijing’s arms. Modi, for the first time since 2018, is on Chinese soil, shaking hands with Xi, smiling for the cameras, and signaling that America can no longer be counted on as India’s preferred partner. That is not a small shift; it’s a tectonic one.
The SCO, once a loose post-Soviet bloc, now represents 43 percent of the world’s population and nearly a quarter of the global economy. Leaders from Russia, Iran, Pakistan, Turkey, Indonesia, Malaysia, and even the UN Secretary-General are present. Xi is playing host, Putin is reinforcing ties, and Modi is quietly repositioning India for a world where Washington can’t be trusted. Trump, meanwhile, is nowhere to be found—except on Truth Social, raging about tariffs and calling the Global South “anti-American.”
But here’s the truth: Trump’s strategy of bludgeoning countries with tariffs and threats has not brought them to heel. It has driven them into the waiting arms of our adversaries. Analysts are already saying this summit is China’s opportunity to project itself as a “stabilizing force” while Trump burns every bridge in sight. Beijing is casting itself as the unifier of the Global South while Trump is the divider-in-chief.
The danger isn’t just economic. The SCO is pushing a concept called “indivisible security,” the idea that one nation’s safety can’t come at the expense of another. It’s a direct rejection of NATO’s model of collective defense. As one Indian scholar put it, this is “an argument to the United States, saying: ‘You are a major power. We are a major power. Respect our spheres of influence.’” And under Trump, America is doing the opposite: we’re disrespecting allies, alienating partners, and giving oxygen to the very powers that want to replace us. Seriously, how stupid is this?
This is the foreign policy equivalent of walking out of a negotiation thinking you’ve closed the deal, only to discover the other side is already popping champagne with your competitor. Trump believes his word alone—his threats, his boasts, his self-proclaimed genius—are enough to dictate terms. He believes if he sends a demand letter, they will immediately comply. The fact is, the rest of the world has stopped listening. They’re busy writing their own rules.
It’s not just that Trump is failing; it’s who he’s put in charge of cleaning up this mess. These are not seasoned diplomats who understand nuance, compromise, or the slow grind of coalition-building. They’re cronies, TV personalities, and hardliners whose only skill set is parroting Trump’s rhetoric. While Xi’s assistant foreign minister is calmly explaining China’s strategy, Trump’s State Department is staffed by people who couldn’t negotiate their way out of a wet paper bag. The result? Xi, Putin, and Modi look like statesmen. Trump looks like a novice thrown into a game he doesn’t understand, surrounded by masters who do.
And symbolism matters. As Alejandro Reyes, a professor in Hong Kong, noted, “This is a time when the US is burning bridges with almost every country. So in President Xi’s mind, it is a good time for China to position itself as a world power.” The optics of 20-plus world leaders gathering under China’s leadership while Trump alienates allies with tariffs and insults cannot be overstated. It’s the image of a multipolar world taking shape while the supposed leader of the free world sulks on the sidelines.
Even more dangerous is what this means for future conflicts. Russia is still waging its brutal war in Ukraine. Israel’s war in Gaza has divided the SCO but given China an opportunity to posture as a mediator. India, despite its differences with Pakistan, is choosing engagement over isolation. The takeaway is clear: while the US retreats into unilateralism, others are experimenting with new forms of multilateralism—messy, symbolic, and imperfect, but appealing to countries tired of Washington’s bullshit and heavy hand.
Trump loves to say he’s making America “great again.” What he’s actually done is make us irrelevant in the very arenas where global power is defined. He’s ceded ground to adversaries, driven away allies, and convinced himself that insults and tariffs are a grand strategy. They’re not. They’re a tantrum dressed up as policy.
The SCO summit is not just another gathering of foreign leaders. It is a warning. America is at risk of becoming the world’s afterthought. While Xi projects strength, Putin projects defiance, and Modi projects pragmatism, Trump projects chaos. And chaos doesn’t win you allies; it leaves you isolated, exposed, and increasingly irrelevant.
So, if Trump thinks his word alone can guide global policy, he’s in for a rude awakening. The rest of the world has stopped waiting for him. They’ve moved on—and they’re not looking back.
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