By threatening to seize Greenland by force, US President Donald Trump has exposed the childlike illusions of his European admirers. Having spent years cultivating their bromances with him, the continent’s right-wing populists – the United Kingdom’s Nigel Farage, Jordan Bardella in France, Alice Weidel in Germany, Italy’s Matteo Salvini, Robert Fico in Slovakia, Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, and Mateusz Morawiecki in Poland – imagined themselves fellow travelers in a revolt against liberal internationalism. Now their idol and patron has been threatening to swallow whole or in part (if the supposed “deal” he has announced comes about) the sovereign territory of a European ally.

Partisan polarization, electoral pressures and factional strife function together, driving Trump to take a tough stance abroad as his main tool in his political gamesmanship.

The United States is undergoing a historically familiar phase of imperial decline, marked by internal dysfunction, economic overreach, and diminishing global credibility, alongside the rise of China and a broader shift toward a multipolar world order.

Over the past year, territorial expansion, military intervention, economic coercion, resource plundering and withdrawal from international agreements have become hallmarks of Donald Trump's imperialism. He is expected to continue to pursue more in the days to come.

Donald Trump and his supporters have neglected the historical role of science as the primary productive force behind America’s economic and military hegemony — an oversight that could put the United States at a disadvantage in the new round of global technological competition.

The unusual movements of U.S. Treasuries and the dollar reflect not only a global reassessment but also questions about America’s national power and international standing. The dollar’s hegemony may soon face a critical turning point.

The fiercest struggle in American politics today is not between two presidential contenders. It is happening between states, which control the electoral maps that determine who sits in Congress. Though Republicans and Democrats are relying on redistricting campaigns instead of armies, their conflict is best understood through the lens of geopolitics. After all, they are not fighting over ideas or specific policies, but over territory.

With Kevin McCarthy having been ousted as House speaker, complex internal disputes within the Republican Party will likely persist. If China issues continue to be stoked for political gain, China-U.S. relations may yet face new challenges at the congressional level.

The United States seems to always have a choice jab ready for China, despite weathering an election insurrection a year ago and simmering tensions over COVID-19 responses within its own borders.

Having achieve little in early December, the United States is looking ahead to another round in 2022. But if the Republicans return to power in the midterm election, international enthusiasm will be dampened.