How Trump's First Month Has Changed the Way the World Looks at America

Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images

FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

How Trump's First Month Has Changed the Way the World Looks at America

"For the first time, I didn't think of the US as the massive imperial power, but as a living country vulnerable to bad decisions."

by Mike Pearl

March 2, 2017, 5:00am

If you're like most Americans—including our president—you really, really care what other people think of you, even if you pretend you don't. Maybe you post a lot on Instagram, maybe you need to insist that your party or presidential inauguration was a huge success that everyone came to. Or maybe you can't answer a question about anti-Semitism without getting sidetracked by a diatribe about how popular you are.

If you, like so many of us, are image-conscious, you might be concerned that the new president is disliked by a huge chunk of the world. That's probably because Donald Trump says he's about to put "America first," an isolationist slogan first used by people who didn't want to join World War II. Out of Trump's mouth, the line means barring people from some majority-Muslim countries from entering the US, building a wall on the southern border, renegotiating long-standing treaties, and backing out of international agreements.

Candidate Trump was never the a darling of most of the international community, but since he took office, the situation in the US has become even more alarming for non-Americans. With Trump at the wheel, there's been a rise in hate crimes, and the father of an Indian man shot in a racially-motivated attack in Kansas went so far as to say parents shouldn't send their kids to America. Then, during Trump's Tuesday speech before a joint session of congress, he announced a government program seemingly designed to stoke outrage about crimes committed by immigrants, even though they commit fewer crimes than non-immigrants.

Curious about how foreigners' attitudes toward the US have changed in the busy month since Trump's inauguration, I contacted some of the editors of international branches of VICE and asked them what they thought of America these days. Here's what they told me:

Stefan Veselinović, Serbia:

For the first time ever, I have a feeling that Serbia is a few steps ahead of the US. Of course, we are poorer and less fortunate than you, but watch out: You are following our footsteps by electing manipulative populists. We have a long history of such leaders. We can always give you a few words of advice about how to handle the Russians, who have often been uninvited guests here—especially in times of elections. Not to mention press freedom, threats and the murders of journalists, crazy orders, and unlawful bans. For us, these are almost daily occurrences, and they may become that way for you too.

Nothing has changed in terms of my opinion towards the US, because I never thought that you'd be spared from making the same mistakes as the rest of the world. The only thing I didn't expect is so much whining from your liberals.

My only comfort is what's been happening in the past month. Since American democracy has stood on more or less firm ground for centuries, it won't drop to its knees so easily. Maybe you will be able to show us whiners in Europe how it looks when strong institutions control a ruler's tyranny. Once again, the ball is in your court, America.

Renaldo Gabriel, Indonesia:

It definitely raises some concerns. The United States seems like it's in a pretty divided condition now more than ever. Getting Trump behind the wheel seems to have added fuel to the fire for all the institutional problems in America. The combination of a confusing electoral process, Trump's insistence on constantly throwing public tantrums, and the continuous political gridlock; it seems like democracy is failing even the American public—which is a bad look coming from "the land of the free."

José Luis, Mexico:

Trump's arrival to the White House made me think of some aspects of the US that I had never thought of. At the beginning, I couldn't believe his victory; but the day he took over I saw on every news channel the massive protests against their newly elected president. For the first time, I didn't think of the US as the massive imperial power, but as a living country vulnerable to bad decisions.

Unfortunately, not a day or two after that, I began reading about specific people with racist behaviors against immigrants. It is too early to know if a president like Trump could make racism flourish again, but these two events made me think it is very important to think of a nation in terms of their individuals, not only their government. Talking specifically about Donald Trump's policies and a wall being built over an arbitrary line between humans, my attitude hasn't changed: I still think both are retrograde and racist.

Joel Golby, UK:

I've always perceived the US as a kind of country-sized expression of braggadocio: It has always been, from my vantage point across the pond, a kind of glossy, confident, sure-of-itself version of what Britain could only hope to be in its wildest dreams. Essentially, the US has always been about chomping cigars, firing pistols into the dry desert sky while shouting "yee–harr," hyper-beautiful LA people, extremely-fockin'-angry-walkin'-here New Yorkers, flapping stars and stripes; a perfectly drilled extremely angry army, a great belt-like swathe of residential houses with perfectly manicured lawns with a complex sprinkler systems, and a perfect flat gray drive, and on it a perfectly shiny American-made car, and in each house—each house has a mess of retouched family photos, neatly framed, on the mantelpiece—inside each house is an American dad, with a fine salt-and-pepper mustache, quietly polishing a rifle and threatening to shoot his high school prom-aged daughter's boyfriend if he fucks her. That, to me, is America.

Post-Trump, that gloss has sort of worn off. To me America seems more than ever a land of disarray, a place where "left" and "right" have formed into two hyper-caricatured identities, and each is scrapping with the other in the middle. And in there—down in the red dust and the creekwater—there's this sort of aimless loss of identity. Who are you, America, now half of you hates Trump, and half of you thinks his particular brand of loud warfare-leaning idiocy is the way forward? How can America have a single identity again, when its two ideological hearts are tugging against each other? Essentially: Who are you, if you are not sure of yourself? A bald eagle perches on a single strong branch on a stony cliff above a long, wandering epic river. The sun sets behind it in the sky. And, slowly, with a mournful squawk, it cries a single tear. That's America right now. Please keep making good TV, though, we need it.

Julian Morgans, Australia:

Trump hasn't changed my perception of your country, just reinforced it. See, I've always seen America as a society three beers deep into a big night. The music is up, everyone is talking quickly (and loudly) about themselves; the options are big and endless.

In comparison, Australia is all about average. We celebrate average characters, flat landscapes, and fret about our tiny, moderately concerning problems. Misfortune in Australia looks like someone on welfare support. But misfortune in America looks like Detroit's outer suburbs and high school shootings. America is this bombastic fucking mess of dreams and anguish. America is nuts, which is why the jolt from Obama to Trump seems completely natural. Of course Trump! Of course!

Markus Lust, Austria:

There once was a time when America was considered pretty cool in the heart of Europe. People were even wearing the star-spangled banner as a fashion statement—and I'm not talking about European rednecks from the outskirts of the Alps here, but actual couture aficionados in Vienna. I remember it like last year. (In fact, it was last year.) But then again, I also remember a time when the States and all the things they stand for were considered the contemporary equivalent of the swastika and a symbol for everything bad and wrong in the world. And that time was just a few years before, when George W. Bush was president. Now it seems we are back to the Bush years.

Benjamin Wirström, Sweden:

To be honest, if anything, my attitude toward the US has improved. It was definitely jarring that Trump beat Clinton (if winning the electoral college technically even means that you beat your presidential opponent), but at the same time it wasn't wholly unexpected, seeing as it was always painfully clear throughout the election how many people fanatically supported every word that spewed out of his gross butthole of a mouth.

So, as we all prepared for the inevitable apocalypse, something happened: People weren't having any of it. Protests erupted all over the country following his inauguration and continued to do so in response to his travel ban. It just goes to show how Americans can come together in times of need; how people aren't going to just submit to fascism and fight back—and that is truly inspiring. Go USA!

Matern Boeselager, Germany:

Trump's election doesn't really change the way I see the US, since we knew before that the country had problems, and that there were lots of people prepared to vote for him. Now that it's come to pass, it's mostly really sad and also pretty frightening. Germans like to bitch about American power-mongering, but we really aren't prepared for a world in which the US doesn't take responsibility anymore. What are we supposed to do, get our own nuclear warheads?

So yes, we are very worried. It's like having had a strong friend just around the corner who would always keep the neighborhood bully at bay. And then suddenly you see that strong friend sharing cigarettes with the bully, and then they both point at you and start snickering. It wasn't supposed to happen, and it's fucking scary.

Follow Mike Pearl on Twitter.

Tagged:EuropemexicoAustraliaDonald Trumpforeign policy