How to End American Power || Apr. 2, 2026

I'm curious who the mole in the white house is, if not the king himself

A lot of this just shows how totally out of touch Trump and the other psychopaths that rule us are. They literally cannot grasp the idea of getting into a policy issue with another country that we do not shoot or bomb our way out of. So they assume the Europeans or Asians will move militarily into the gulf... rather than make a phone call to Iran and cut a deal to get what they want. Which we could have done effortlessly.... indeed, Obama did it.... but Israel did not like it so here we are.

The post-WWII system where the U.S. provided maritime security for everyone has been paid for by the USA. Asking for cooperation from those who benefited the most from our generosity and being told, no, triggered a revisiting of this relationship. The USA is now the worlds biggest provider i.e. 85%, of oil/gas, and China can no longer get discounted energy from Iran/Russia that was used to fuel their manufacturing economy at the expense of ours. Either by design or by accident, Trump has taken the USA from a great power in managed decline under Biden, to one that will soon control the world's energy market, agricultural and manufacturing economy.

If you’ve been following Trump for more than 20 minutes, you understand that he always makes extreme statements and takes extreme positions to move the needle toward where he wants a matter to end up. It’s the shock value that gets people to start thinking. Allies wouldn’t participate in subduing Iran, so Trump says “come get your own oil then - we have plenty.” Now they understand they have a big interest in helping bring the conflict to an end. Last time he threatened NATO, they increased their defense spending threefold. It works.

So you’re saying it’s better to keep spending billions we don’t have to protect the world until our currency collapses while accepting NATO countries surviving off our debt and then refusing our use of military facilities we built and maintain for their defense when we with all this power say ok whatever you say rules us? Hard to see that’s better?

Why should Trump help any country?? Theyre not helping USA, abd USA are just plain sick of being used. Fullstop

Trying to rationalise the ramblings of a deranged mind. The scary thing is how much power has been afforded to that mind and that no one seems willing to take it away.

Dumping NATO has been in the cards for decades. Most NATO countries for several decades have not been paying their agreed-upon share of costs and it's been the USA shouldering the lion's share of treasure as well as blood. And worse, I can distinctly recall the whining and handwringing of certain NATO members, (not to mention names but the initials are GERMANY) for not only not paying their share but them taking issues with how the USA was going about defending the European continent, especially back in the 1980's. Trump called out these countries during his 1st term and he took a PR beating for doing so; the EU laughed, scorned and ostracized him for doing so and the Dem-controlled MSM piled on. The EU couldn't handle being called on the carpet for their crass intransigence. If the EU can't handle its own defense by now, that's on them. One would think after two world wars and yet another bout of attempted genocide in the Balkans in the 1990's which required a strong US response to quell, the EU would have its shit together. It's high time they started doing so. As Petey himself had preached previously and a growing number of Americans have wanted.

Whoa, wait a minute!! Let's look at the previous "Peter Tapes" going back several years. Petey has been calling for the US backing away from its Bretton Woods I role and not being the guarantor of global security. He has spoken about it NUMEROUS times and that it was to be a good thing for the USA as we would establish several separate alliances with various allies. Why Petey is doing a crass two-faced retreat from his well-documented past preaching can be summed up in three letters: TDS. More explicitly, since he hates Trump and can't stand that Trump is doing what Petey has been predicting for years, it pisses him off. Kind of pathetic.

Yes, if we could just have Jill Biden back in charge, she'd know what to do.

This sort of stories always begs the question of who Trump really works for. Guess we all know the answer.

I am sure Putin continues his Happy Dance, though I don't think it will end well for him either....

@Peter - did you read this article in WSJ this weekend? Elon Musk’s Starship Heavy Could Revolutionize Warfare - 10 to 20 years from now is this our new reality? Either holding the advantage or being hyper worried about someone else who has the advantage. I think LEO might not be best given life at LEO is short lived and crowded. The Kessler Effect is an obvious defense.

I may be missing something here, but if the central premise of deglobalisation is predicated on US stratergic withdrawl from otherwise guaranteeing frictionless movement of maritine trade as efffectivly the global military and security guaranture, then would not something like what we are seeing have always been on the card? i.e. the reginition of formerly dormant regonial powers and their colonial ambitions following the direct abdication of US military presence across the globe.

Big hitter The Lama

Isn’t this disunited nations but accelerated?

Greater Isrsel and “greater america” as mentioned recently by Hegseth is what appears to be the mission. I agree with Peter that this is the end of the American Empire that’s purposely being destroyed. I don’t believe Trump is intelligent but I also don’t believe he’s even making the choice. I loath the existence or Israel’s occupation of the US MIC and our political system but when I look at it from a non biased historical perspective it seems simple. . I know Peter would argue against this and I get it American isolationism, geography, domestic politics, and specific provocations finally pulled the US into WWI and WWII but we can’t just sit and ignore the fact that the US let the rest of the world do the heavy bleeding before stepping into each war at the end when everyone was exhausted. . WWI 1914 Wilson called neutrality/isolationism. Sure the german subs and their demand for mexico to attack the USA “brought us in” but we were literally waiting for a reason to sell the populace on a reason to enter and we got it. Casualties: US military deaths: 116,000–117,000. Compare that to France: 1.4m, Germany:1.8–2 m Russia:1.7–3 m and Britain: 900k. The US contribution was late and decisive with far less loss of human capital/resources because everyone was already dying. . WWII US took note from WWI and still called neutrality, except this time by no means were we passive. Cash and carry arms sales of 1939, lend lease act of 1941, and aiding all so everyone could bleed out once again before we entered. There are legitimate records of a multitude of military leaders once again itching for a reason to get into the war. High ranking officials shortly after the wars end blatantly said there was advanced warning for pearl harbor but the US wanted an excuse once again to enter the war and convince the normies that it was a necessity. Admiral Robert A. Theobald blatantly accused President Roosevelt and senior officials of having decrypted Japanese messages showing an impending attack but deliberately withholding that intelligence from Admiral Husband E. Kimmel and General Walter Short as an excuse to go to war. . Captain Laurance F. Safford the head of the Navy’s codebreaking and signals intelligence section testified under oath that Japans “Winds Execute” message was code for imminent war on the US and Britain a clear 3 days heads up stating it was a coverup to not warn hawaii. Vice Admiral Frank Edmund Beatty Jr., and before mentioned Admiral Husband E. Ki shared this sentiment. . With that said; why in the hell are we not realizing that we’re destroying global trade, destroying unification, destroying our empire so the world purposefully goes into the chaos that peter has always warned of. Why is it that we can’t see that every world war including the one beginning to shape now is all a massive planned conspiracy to isolate power and shape society by elites who use us all as chess pieces. It just seems so obvious, yet for some reason we’re still all in denial… when it’s happening right in front of our faces we’re still just feeding into the bullshit of “left vs right”.

WORST PRESIDENT EVER.

I would love to see Peter do a video talking about how much Trump has modified his various predictions in his four books.

This is exactly what Steven Bannon was talking about in a PBS interview back in 2017-2018. Now that is coming to pass. America First means America Alone, which is what the conservative pundits and think tanks want for the world. Endless great power wars and several regional conflicts, colonies to control access to natural resources, and limited freedom for all but a few wealthy and well connected individuals.

The scariest part of that, for those of us who are ready to leave the country, is that our passports are no longer going to be welcomed

If we return to the 19th Century Imperial model, America gets North and South America and all their resources, so we'd have that going for us, which is nice.

Awesome! I have a distinct recollection of this very discussion in a book I read not too long ago. "The End of the World is Just the Beginning" or some such thing. Whoever that author was said this was going to happen. And here we are seeing it in real-time. Lucky for me (statistically speaking) I won't be here in 30 years to see all this play out.

Assuming the US loses its overseas military bases, what impact does that have on the size of the US military? I assume it will need to shrink as it repatriates but by how much?

PZ is probably the best geopolitical analyst in the world. But mention Trump and his intellectual rationale gets crazy emotive and is largely wrong. American politics isn't his game

Chicken Little takes it to a new level

We elected the dumbest president in modern history. But decided to or the second round to let him have a completely under his heel cabinet. How else did we expect it to go? He knows nothing about anything other than bankruptcy and rapiing children.

A less alarmist view would be that the US is using the threat of a US pull out to force their allies to take on a larger share of the costs. This will of course also lessen American influence but it could also make the system economically sustainable in a world where American share of world GDP is shrinking.

"Weakest since the 1930's" No. Not even close. The US military in the '30's had manpower of 180,000. France: 1,000,000. Germany: 700,000. Even Great Britain and Italy were larger. Plus, we didn't have the second largest nuclear arsenal as we do now. Not one of Peter's best.

I've said for years Trump is going to turn the US into a giant Venezuelan style failed state. Seems I lacked imagination. He's going to do it to the whole world. My deepest fear is this unbelievable ignorant clown is going to end up snuffing out the only rise of intelligent life we know of in the wide Universe. I'm waiting for someone, anyone to prove me wrong.

Walk barefoot if there are no ticks because it makes you healthier and smarter. (Ion exchange)

In your book “The End Of The World Is Just Beginning” you reference Bretton-Woods as the origin of the world order with America guaranteeing freedom of the seas and global stability in return for support to fight communism. Well, after the USSR collapsed, did that not remove the raison d’etre for America to maintain the globalized world order? Why is it bad, then, for the U.S. to pull back from paying for everyone else’s security?

Sounds like Trump and his minions are making a great case to CUT THE MILITARY BUDGET since we don't plan on staying the global sheriff in charge. . .. limited overseas bases, cut a lot of manpower, boats and planes, stick to better missiles (and protective domes) and drones. But of course, not...that would make him "weak".

1) weren't all these outcomes what you predicted with the end of globalization as the basis for international affairs? 2) with the political shift to the left across the world (especially Europe), was the U.S. going to be able to hew to its conservative principles AND keep alliances with leftist regimes globally?

In all your books you predict NATO dissolution and now you say that is a big mistake.Why did you change your mind Peter??

Yeah I said this over a year ago.. if you make the japanese remiliteraise you're setting up an inevitable near power in the pacific which is kind of dumb.. but maybe right now, since trumps feelings change all the time, the less absolute term would be higher demand for a viable medium of exchange.. still being the dollar.. pretty sure the world is discounting a trump presidency in 2028 so its not like he speaks for all US citizens for ever right, also Peter can you mention the US PMI rising since January, kind of thing we thought couldn't happen since EverYbOdy has lost agency and doesn't want to take risks until a new administration, or maybe they are just doing it anyway. Also i love how absolute peter is about trumps tweets don't we remember there being a couple thousand trade policy changes in these 2 years, hes liable to say anything right so why take it at face value.. maybe trumps just gearing up a proposal to charge nations for sea access/trade access in leu of his tariff policies?

Yeah, but: What’s the point of having all this power if we’re so constrained in actually using it? We can’t reliably secure even narrow, high-priority choke points. If allies won’t meaningfully share risk, what are these alliances really worth? And if fragmentation is coming anyway per Peter's books, are we actually preventing anything or just dragging it out while draining resources?

been hitting up Glenn Diesens youtube page again mostly because he's been all over this with some helpful guests, here's a recap of his conversation with Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, former Chief of Staff for Colin Powell: PART ONE: This isn’t a messy situation—it’s a full-blown breakdown at the leadership level with escalation happening in the absence of any coherent strategy. Wilkerson is essentially saying the U.S. is already in over its head and doesn’t know how to get out: “he’s in it… and he has not the tools to extricate himself.” The timeline extensions aren’t tactical—they’re desperation: “buying time to be buying time.” Meanwhile, forces are being pushed around the globe in what he describes as almost performative fashion—special operators, scattered deployments—without a defined mission. His most damning framing is straight military doctrine: “you’re not here to accomplish your objectives… you’re here to accomplish your mission”—and right now, there is no identifiable mission. That’s not just incompetence, that’s dangerous drift with live weapons. At the same time, Iran holds escalation leverage and a fully mapped target set across the Gulf—meaning even a limited U.S. action could trigger a region-wide shutdown. In his words, this is “the worst performance I’ve ever seen by a leadership cell.”

Mr Zeihan's anti-Trump stance is in full bloom. The American Empire created by FDR is dying yes. Long live the American Republic ! The Spirit of Charles Lindberg lives on.

But the US didn't have control of those armies. I could be wrong, but most forces sent were kind of token in the past?

Yes. This is going to be Trump's legacy, long after he is gone. When Trump made his demand of "Go get the oil yourselves" it occurred to me that the easiest way for France, the UK, etc., to do so might well be to make deals with Iran rather than continue what Trump started.

The USA gave the world Trump , not just once but twice. The punishment for that will be mistrust for the next 25 years , significant loss of business as Europe , Uk Canada , Australia , India all deal with each other at the expense of the USA

Imagine multi-national forces occupying Iran, forever.

What did you think of his speech last night?

Hey, at least we’re getting the “Trump-Epstein” memorial ball-room. What’s not to like. I can’t wait to see what Mr T picks for the wallpaper colors and pedaphile themes. America first has arrived my friends. Global strategic nine level chess playing delivered by the smartest man that ever lived. Isn’t there some kind of award for this brilliance?

Glad we're on the same page here Peter. If I were trying to be optimistic about this, I would say it presents an opportunity to drastically reduce federal spending on maintaining bases around the world and the amount of hardware required to project power. If I were being realistic, I would say he's creating the initial conditions for the video game Fallout.

I read a book called the end of the world is just the beginning that went over this exactly. In that book the U.S. still thrived and had a 1950s style economic boom.

I’m not going to defend Trump on this one but is he actually advocating Europe invade the gulf to get or or is he telling Europe send their navy to protect the tankers they need? Isn’t this what the US said during the Houthi crisis in 2024? I don’t read this as a return to strategic deployment but as advocating that if Europe wants the straitof Hormuz open so badly, send in your boats to run tanker escort.

Morons Are Governing America

You might want to take a step back here—there are a lot of assumptions being made. On one hand, Trump is dismissed as a bag of hot air; on the other, he’s portrayed as a singular force capable of dismantling America and the global order. Those two positions don’t sit well together. I’ve found your work thoughtful and grounded—especially your analysis of demographics, geography, and history. It’s helped me think more critically about global trends. But in this case, I think you may be over-indexing on interpretation and underestimating strategy. Trump operates as a hardball negotiator. He deliberately walks the line between confrontation and cooperation, often saying or doing whatever is necessary to create leverage in the moment. What we’re seeing isn’t randomness—it’s pressure. The messaging is loud and, at times, abrasive, but it’s designed to force engagement and recalibrate expectations. Take the Middle East, for example. The posture appears to be: we are willing to act decisively, even unilaterally, but if partners aren’t serious about burden-sharing, we will adjust accordingly. That doesn’t equate to abandonment—it’s a shift toward conditional engagement. Similarly, rhetoric around NATO looks less like a clean break and more like a negotiating tactic aimed at redefining commitments and contributions. Whether or not the full reset happens under Trump, he may serve as the forcing function that makes it inevitable. It’s also overly simplistic to assume this is all impulsive or that the system is operating without internal constraint. That interpretation doesn’t hold up well under scrutiny. Step back and look at the broader landscape. The U.S. is facing simultaneous pressures across multiple regions—South America, the Caribbean, the Middle East, and Europe. The nature of threats has evolved, and the existing security architecture is struggling to keep up. A retooling is necessary. Within that context, prioritization matters. Iran, for instance, represented a time-sensitive challenge given its capabilities and trajectory. Even partial degradation of its capacity may be viewed by regional actors as a strategic win, buying time and shifting the long-term balance. At the same time, there’s a practical dimension: leveraging existing military platforms before they become obsolete, while creating urgency to modernize. None of this is clean. It rarely is. Strategic resets tend to look chaotic from the outside—like watching the sausage being made. But the underlying signals are fairly consistent: the U.S. is reassessing where it commits resources, who shares the burden, and which threats take priority. This aligns with a broader shift already visible in official strategy—away from acting as the guarantor of the entire global order and toward a more interest-driven, selective engagement model. So rather than viewing this as disorder or decline, it may be more accurate to see it as a recalibration—one that forces allies and adversaries alike to respond to a new set of expectations.

I have a love/hate relationship listening to you. Love being informed but hate the message as it's so depressing. And to think we have an absolute lunatic who is singularly taking down the Country. Insanity.

But hey, at least we're stopping woke, right guys?

Well put

The only good thing about Trump is that he has given me an abundance of confidence in believing that I, too, could become President of the United States.

Make America Grovel Again

It is 292 days until the democrats take control of the house and the senate from the castrated, spineless republicans. If they accomplish nothing else they will at least put a leash on Orange Man. Yes, Peter has predicted a collapse of global trade and a refocus on more regional powers. No, he did NOT predict us intentionally jumping off of a cliff. Orange Man is working hard through great incompetence and total ignorance to destroy the alliance system that has worked well over the last 75 years. I hope our allies see this as an aberration of leadership rather than an "American" shift. His tariffs were a disaster for American industrial buildout. They still are. Businesses are extremely reluctant to commit to expensive projects as they cannot predict what the idiot man-child in charge will do next to interfere with markets. So we sit on our hands, waiting... I remember the first Gulf War. Then President George HW Bush intelligently, methodically, diplomatically took time to put together an alliance, got everyone on the same page, and then attacked Iraq. Not so with Orange Man. Despite his alleged negotiating skills, what we really see is a bully who tries to pressure people into doing what he wants and when they don't he screams and gnashes his teeth. Yes, we have a large debt. However, the investment of that money into being the worlds policeman his kept many local fires from blowing into massive firestorms. It has kept trade and profits for American industry flowing for decades. In less than a year the appropriate balance of governmental power will return and Congress will once again check Orange Man. It will improve.

Hey Theil we found your anti-christ

Why would Trump go on TV to basically said we Lost the war? He also stated the States need to provide medicare basically everything except Military and Raise State Taxes to do it.

If we hooked a generator up to the Graves of our founding fathers, we would have unlimited energy with how fast They are spinning. Was our decline inevitable when Bill Clinton was elected and handed over power to corporations so now both parties were lost or are we rapidly declining because Trump is just that compromised and incompetent… Only history will tell.

Acknowledge your BIAS as you read or listen to ? Due diligence is called for ?

I wonder if this is a cynical attempt to tap into the cycle of regrown colonialism eventually creating another world conflict, out of which America re-rises to power post-conflict (similar to 1945), simply by dint of its favorable geopolitical blessings. Isolate, let the world burn, pick up the ashes after it burns with a Breton-Woods 2.0, then move through the late 21st century and into the 22nd, still in control. Not saying that I'm for it, just trying to understand what the behind the scenes motivations might be.

Great summary. What if this is a ploy to renew the NATO agreements with more commitments and clarity of responsibilities

ELECT A CLOWN and this is what happens….🤦🏻‍♂️🤷🏻‍♂️ REAL ROCKEY SCIENCE we are talking about here…🙄 This Generation deserves it for electing this CLOWN but the future ones don’t…🆘🇺🇸🆘

I suspect the banking industry will find a way to maintain the USD as the de facto reserve currency, perhaps by transitioning to a Digital Central Bank Currency (CBDC). History rhymes here: when the UK withdrew from its colonies, the City of London ensured their banks and deposits stayed on the balance sheets by establishing the world's largest tax havens in the Caribbean and keeping world branches active—such as HSBC in Hong Kong and Barclays in Africa. If the US pulls back too abruptly now, it triggers two massive risks: first, supply chains will shift faster than reshoring can keep up (sparking inflation), and second, the USD risks being permanently displaced.

National power has and always will be transactional. Diplomats play a game that sometimes works because people and egos are involved, but at its core, national power is about what is got for what is given. Trump has stripped away the pretense. He has, however, substituted diplomacy with business-like leverage in an attempt to maintain dominance. Telling Europe, for instance, to come and get their own oil through the Strait—something they can’t do—will force them back into some grudging vassal relationship. Popcorn time.

Calm down PZ. You've written books about this happening before DT was in office. The country is nearing $40 trillion in debt but I'm assuming your expectation is we continue to be Europe's protector while they've been chasing rainbows for 40 years. I must have missed your video of what an Iranian nuclear ICBM would mean for global order. And...... is this like the time you said there was no way DT could be elected a second time? I get it, you're smart and opinionated. But are you wise? Maybe a touch less arrogance would be in order.

Peter uses the F-word so seldom that when he does, it has impact.

Donald Trump has done more damage to the United States than any foreign adversary. He is the biggest danger we have ever faced, and people were stupid enough to elect him not just once, but twice...with 34 felonies on his record. We deserve to go under as a country.

As an almost 80 year old American, I have lived thru the Edsel, Chubby Checker, Viet Nam, the Beatles, Hard Hats and Hippies. Then came marriage, jobs and kids. Dis-allusion always let the boomer fix their life…as we floated thru everything. Our parents did the hard lifting. We have the ability to carry the moral torch. But we are being put out to pasture. Or some, self included, have it so soft, are afraid the Great Oz will shatter our retirement cocoon. I for one, living in a Red state, feel hopeless and alone

You pro-MAGA people will reap the Congress’ abdication with the deaths of your children in greater foreign wars that could have been avoided by impeaching Trump on numerous accounts. Our Secretary of “War” is foolishly preparing for future wars using the last war strategy. This is what happened in 1941 when we didn’t know how important Radar would be on December 7th. Vote against every MAGA in November so we can stop this insanity fueled by false fears.

It's about freaking time You start taking a harder approach to this administration's actions. Over the past year I've seen so many ups and downs of how you speak about Trump and his band of uneducated idiots. If you hate the past things are going use your platform to start making people see why he is such a mistake

Demented clowns will do the dumbest of shit. Bye bye America

I don’t get it. Aren’t your books about this happening, without Trump. This is the way you said. I get Trump is bad, but you said this was all going to happen. This all looks like your book coming true.

Here is question. Can you dismantle part of the last 80 years of military/economic system and still preserve dollar hegemony. I think its unlikely. If you remove the underlying military basis for global trade that in the past guaranteed free flow of global goods traded in USD what is the incentive for global actors to trade in a USD . In my opinion destroying part of the system , destroys all of it.

Let’s assume the Republicans lose the Primary and Trump enters what would be a traditional “Lame Duck” phase of his presidency! I don’t think he will just head for the golf course! How will he “Game” the system to keep himself the centre of attention?

What PZ ignores is that the bulk of the US population is well over funding protection for the rest of the damned world while being taken advantage of economically and being hated, held in contempt, and otherwise abused. You can't have a world order without a world government and the UN ain't it.

But it will be ok because... The End of the World, is Just the Beginning. (I hope?)

Just naive me trying to be optimistic, but I think Europe gets along & cooperates much better than during the Napoleonic times and maybe, maybe, maybe they will step up and take the torch. Then we can concentrate on South American & Canadian relations (if we get a more diplomatic administration in office).

Yall are hilarious. Calm down.

Yeah, but Kamala was for trans kids surgery and stuff..

But what has been happening has been a concerted effort on the part of the far-right to infiltrate the Christian faith over decades. I first came into contact with these ideas in college back in the early 1990s. “An evil man will burn his own nation to the ground to rule over the ashes.”

When you think its the stupidest thing America could do, just remember that 80m Americans voted to do exactly this. Arguably 40% of the country wants to see it fall and they support Russia. These people are your neighbors, your parents, your coworkers. Never forget that.

Putin won.

Will this imply the loss of the reserve currency status, for the dollar?

I had the misfortune of watching the first 15 minutes of Trump's address earlier today. Everything he said, after the acknowledgement of the Artemis launch, was mad. How this man has been elected President, twice, is incredible to me. There can't be too many individuals in the US who would be less suitable for the office. I'm not American, I'm Australian. We expect a certain level of madness from our American cousins, but this is just too much. The world was already a very scary place before Trump, but now it's terrifying.

Let's all settle down and see what happens when this administration is neutralised . He is at the very least an agent of chaos but not America incarnate for all the damage he's trying to do internally and externally. True Allies will still be there when he's gone, no matter what tantrums and delusions he foists on the planet . This Iran's action is illegal under US law and allies can not act without congressional sanction, proper consultation and due cause.

If Trumpedo said it, Don't Believe It. He has no intention of ever giving up anything. Ever. Like a petulant child, he's threatening to take his ball and go home because everybody didn't listen to him. ... Empty head, empty threat.

From the European perspective, we express our sympathy to the ordinary citizens of the United States who now have to live under a political order that seems increasingly detached from the principles of democracy and the rule of law. In Europe, these principles are foundational, not decorative: human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, and the rule of law define the constitutional identity of the Union. That is why it is so disturbing to witness a country once regarded as a pillar of the democratic West drift toward arbitrariness, institutional degradation, and the normalisation of power without restraint. Our sympathy belongs to the ordinary Americans who must live with the consequences: the corrosion of legal certainty, the weakening of checks and balances, and the growing sense that law no longer binds the powerful equally. The EU’s own understanding of the rule of law includes legality, separation of powers, independent courts, and equality before the law. Europe should say clearly: we do not look at the American people with hostility, but with concern. It is a tragedy when citizens who believe in freedom and constitutional order are forced to watch their own state move away from them. And it is a historic warning when a democracy begins to lose the habits, limits, and legal discipline that made it democratic in the first place.

From the European point of view, NATO is not an instrument for helping the United States commit war crimes, wage illegal wars, or support mass atrocities. It is a defensive alliance, founded to protect its members against aggression. Any suggestion that Europe’s role is simply to follow Washington into whatever military project it chooses is politically wrong, morally bankrupt, and contrary to the very principles NATO claims to defend. If the United States abandons its commitments, Europe will have to become more self-reliant. But European strategic autonomy must not mean colonialism, coercion, or wars for resources. Europe does not need to replace one empire with several smaller ones. It needs credible defense, political unity, energy security, and a foreign policy grounded in international law. The issue is not whether Europe should fight for access to Persian Gulf oil. The issue is whether the transatlantic alliance can survive if one side openly rejects solidarity and treats security as extortion. If that bond breaks, Europe must respond by strengthening its own capacity to defend itself — without abandoning the legal and moral standards that distinguish defense from aggression. Europe should prepare for a world in which American protection is less certain. But it should do so as a union of democracies, not as a collection of competing colonial powers.

I don’t know Pete seems to me that our allies are very quick to request our assistance But never seem to move whenever we need theirs. In this instance, something as simple as using their bases or air space let alone requesting minesweepers for assistance. Secondly, $36 trillion in debt something is going to have to give eventually. I don’t see why you seem so shocked didn’t you predict this was going to happen in your books regional hegemony, right?

Trump is Putins man in the western world, everything he has done ist to no. 1 harm the US, and no.2 harm the so called western alliences and the EU

Unfortunately we, the American voters, have done this to ourselves. The world has every right to judge us based upon the man we elected and the mess we have created. Despite American arrogance we have underestimated our ability to affect the thinking of people around the world. During Trump one, I remember talking to friends in Asia that thought all media was “fake news” because if American media, the gold standard was “fake news” then how could their media be trusted? This is quite destabilizing (intentionally). If you cannot believe anything, you cannot believe IN anything. This disrupts belief in principles. The actions of Trump, as a useful idiot, have intentionally destabilized the world. I used to blame bad world leaders for bad actions. But in a democracy, I’ve now seen first-hand, the citizens, the people must bear the blame. I’m very disappointed.

Does anyone see parallels with George Orwell's 1984 scenario of three blocs emerging from Trump's plan to focus on controlling the Americas, letting Russia dominate Europe, and abandoning Asia to China's control? I don't know if the US leadership reads books, but I don't think this ended well...

Counties don't survive this level of prestige collapse. At least us Brit's had the decency to do it in a somewhat orderly (no laughing at the back) manner.

The isolationist 1930s Peter talks about is Americas natural state. It’s where we are comfortable existing. The U.S is the only nation to ever exist that has no interest in being a global power we did it out of necessity. The world is different now and Americans feel fine stepping back from s position they never wanted and going back to our natural state.

I think this is exactly what the American people want. We can’t afford to control the world anymore for demographic and economic reasons as Peter always talks about. Globalization is over so naturally countries who can will build armies to defend their interest. I totally agree with Peter that in 50 years will be sending 10 million Americans soldiers to fight WW3 BUT BUT BUT that’s a problem for another day. Today the U.S has been headed toward exactly where we are now for the last 5 presidents. So the fact Peter is shocked and calls it “fucking stupid” is clearly an emotional response to the end of a global order he largely agreed with.

"THE END" of American power is possible, of course. But isn’t it just about everyone anticipating Trump will be gone in a few short years, and adjustments will happen to undo what Trump hath wrought? I do. Frankly, some of Trump's criticisms of NATO members, et al, taking advantage of U.S. generosity ring true. While the USA was fighting fires all over the world, Europeans created a socialist dreamworld of wealth and leisure. Then they whined when it came time to pay their fair share or pull their own weight. Also, isn't it true that although the US is without doubt powerful, was not that power abused and misused by partisan political leaders, forever? And thus squandered? Just sayin'.

This seems somewhat at odds with your own books

Peter, I'm very confused as to how this statement from Trump, while crude, isn't exactly what you anticipated in The End of World. You sound so dismayed and even shocked by what Trump said, but how is that not exactly what you anticipated would happen in a deglobalizing world where the US maintaining itself as the global guarantor via naval security and superiority was no longer strategically viable or even logical... I mean, literally from the description on your book jacket: "America has lost interest in keeping [hyper globalization] going. Globe-spanning supply chains are only possible with the protection of the U.S. Navy. The American dollar underpins internationalized energy and financial markets. Complex, innovative industries were created to satisfy American consumers. American security policy forced warring nations to lay down their arms. Billions of people have been fed and educated as the American-led trade system spread across the globe. All of this was artificial. All this was temporary. All this is ending. In ... the next world ... countries ... will have no choice but to make their own goods, grow their own food, secure their own energy, fight their own battles, and do it all with populations that are both shrinking and aging." So, what is different about what Trump is saying and doing than what you expected would be said and done in a rapidly deglobalizing world?

Yup. I found Carney’s coalition of Canada EU Australia Japan and South Korea interesting. Also in that it doesn’t include the UK.

Good video. So sad.

Ok, but we didn’t have a ballroom, now we’ll have a ballroom, and since we’ll have a ballroom, we can resolve all of the world’s issues with a mixture of Versailles style intrigue and break dance fighting! PZ… you have to believe… in the ballroom.

From what I've understood the constitutional matter about NATO exit isn't fully resolved, so whether he can legally complete a withdrawal without Congress seems uncertain. But he sure can push for it and that would stir things up.

Is there anyway you can see that a possible next administration can turn this around to anything resembling what we had before this one. I mean how long and how much effort would it take to rebuild trust and cooperation between current allies in a new administration

Ooooh let me guess! Ballroom?

But the president unilaterally can’t remove the US from the NATO right? 2/3 of the Senate need to agree or sth?

“You didn't come here to make the choice, you've already made it. You're here to try to understand why you made it"

Congrats on being right?