Twilight of Trumpism?
Trump faced accusations of ficklenessand a lack of tact right at the start of his second term in office. Now the US president is making headlines with his alarming rhetoric and AI-generated images. In its discussion of his foreign policy – from the Iran war to Nato, to the elections in Hungary and even the feud with Pope Leo XIV – the media sees indications that Trumpism is in decline.
US president risking midterm election defeat
Newsweek Polska sees the conflict with the Pope as a serious threat to the US president’s power base:
“When Trump published an AI-generated image of himself wearing papal robes and a mitre in May last year, shortly before the election of Leo XIV, the reaction among American Catholics was muted. This pales in comparison to the wave of outrage triggered a few days ago by Trump's latest AI post – depicting himself as a new Christ healing the sick. ... Trump would probably like to excommunicate the Pope. ... By declaring war on him, he is paving the way for his own defeat in the midterm elections in November.”
No more walking on water
El Periódico de Catalunya sees a Trump fatigue setting in:
“Viktor Orbán's defeat, the conflict between Donald Trump and Giorgia Meloni, the attack on Pope Leo XIV and the economic fallout of the war with Iran have shifted the political mood. ... As long as the far right kept its focus on anti-politics and identity, its growth curve was steep. ... Now that Trump is expanding his list of 'others' on a daily basis (Europe, Persian civilisation, the Pope, Catholics ...), his European partners are suffering. ... Trump is no longer walking on water. ... Where once he seemed to be an inevitable phenomenon, now he's showing signs of wear and tear. ... That's why Europe's far right is looking so disgruntled.”
A fan of macho leaders
Trump feels more at home with hardened dictators than with "weak" figures like the Pope, Kronen Zeitung observes:
“In a world out of joint nothing is impossible anymore: the leader of what until recently was an important nation, who portrays himself as Jesus Christ, has lashed out at the Pope. ... And the Holy Father refused to take it lying down and fired back. ... What exactly has the Pope done wrong? He criticised the war in Iran as his predecessor Paul VI did with the war in Vietnam and Johannes Paul II with the war in Iraq. But Trump takes criticism very badly, particularly from someone he regards as 'weak'. He only respects strongmen, like his favourite dictators in North Korea or Belarus.”
Focus on deepening ties
In a Facebook post, political scientist Volodymyr Fessenko makes recommendations for relations with the US:
“Given the idiosyncrasies of those currently leading the US, as well as the current situation in and around the US, I believe Ukraine should focus less on relations with the top decision-makers in the United States and more on maintaining and strengthening institutional, functional and sectoral ties, as well as fostering friendly relations with individual representatives of the political, economic and administrative elites. Such a tactic could enable us to better navigate the current phase of difficult relations with the US.”