Trump causes damage between generations of American diplomacy
In his second opening speech, President Trump announced that he would build “the most powerful army in the world ever.” He continued by sending Congress in June, a record number of $ 1.01 trillion in the Ministry of Defense for the fiscal year 2026.
In his opening speech, Trump also said he wanted to remember him as a “peacemaker and a united.”
But later on the same day, an executive thing that led to the dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development and began a continuous process to decrease America’s diplomatic ability to enhance America’s global interests, prevent conflict and enhance a peaceful solution to international problems.
It is easy to understand the nation’s military ability. It consists of forces, weapons, training, logistical services and military bases. The defense budget of $ 1 trillion in America will already be strengthened by the great military capacity. But in order to be a successful diplomacy, America requires a diplomatic capacity, which has three concrete and incalculable dimensions.
The concrete dimensions are: people, attendance and programs. The unfinished dimension is something that the deceased Harvard University researcher Joe Nai “soft power”.
The skilled and darkening diplomats are the greatest diplomatic origin in America, but they were not born. Getting language, professional skills and other knowledge requires years of training and practical experience.
Diplomats of foreign service and US civil service represents a major investment in US national security and protecting citizens abroad. America needs the best diplomats to compete with other countries, especially the best diplomats in China.
However, earlier this month, the Trump administration announced the launch of the 1300 Foreign Ministry officials, which follow the launch of almost all US Agency for International Development. This amounts to getting rid of many years of investing in US national security assets.
In diplomacy, as there are issues. The diplomatic presence consists of American embassies in global capitals and consulates in the main important cities of the important interests of the United States.
Embassies and consulates are the eyes, ears and sound of America on Earth at the international level. They protect American interests and citizens, maintain Washington with developments, and build support for American policy priorities.
Until recently, America had the most powerful diplomatic presence at the international level. Now China is doing. However, Trump is planning the presence of a diplomat abroad in America, which will only help our opponents.
Diplomacy not only speaks, it also makes things happen. Diplomatic programs are tools that support American strategic priorities – and these programs change as departments change.
Such programs range from humanitarian aid and development for American farmers and companies in developing international markets for their products, to benefit from the United Nations and other international organizations to achieve the goals of the United States.
It also includes international radio stations such as The Voice of America that brings the truth about America and the world to the people whose governments lie on.
Diplomatic programs represent about 1 percent of the federal budget, but they result in large returns for American national security.
By dismantling or reducing financing for diplomatic programs such as Food for People and America and financing for international organizations through the United Nations (where others pay 78 percent of the costs of US -shaped agendas), Trump takes tools from the US National Security Tools Fund that will harm his future management capabilities to achieve their international goals.
Trump also undermines the unintended soft power of American diplomatic capacity. America’s global alliances are witnessing their exaggeration by global soft power. NYE has determined the soft power as “the ability to get preferred results by attraction instead of coercion or payment.”
Others wanted to work with the United States on common goals and share the burden of doing so. But this changes, and as Nai said before his death, and as modern international opinion polls indicate, under Trump, America gets rid of soft power, which can only help our opponents and competitors.
Upon undermining American diplomatic capacity, Trump also undermines America’s military ability. The army and diplomats work in America as one team, with each of them completing the other.
As the first Defense Secretary Trump, James Mattis, he said when the commander of the US Central Command was, “If you do not fully fund the Foreign Ministry, I need to buy more ammunition.”
Diplomats help prevent conflict, and when the conflict occurs, diplomats help end it and maintain peace. Whether in Europe, the Middle East, or Asia, the military is on American diplomacy to help create supportive alliances.
For example, regardless of the size of the Ministry of Defense’s budget, there can be no successful defense of Taiwan without strong and sustainable diplomacy in Asia and abroad before and after the conflict.
Diplomacy revolves around making others to help achieve America’s goal of a world that supports us with prosperity and security. The Trump administration has a number of international priorities, which cannot be resolved by the United States or its military power alone.
If Trump hopes to achieve any permanent and positive international heritage, it needs to end the radical attack by 2025 on American diplomatic ability and start a systematic review of how to structure and use the nation’s diplomatic ability to achieve its international goals.
The first good step is to cancel the collective shooting of American diplomats immediately and evaluate how the current diplomatic programs to serve Trump’s goals.
If Trump mocks America’s diplomatic ability to communicate with others and form a global agenda, he may remember, despite everything, as a “peacemaker”.
Ken Brale is a retired foreign service officer who worked as an ambassador in Clinton and Bush departments.
