America is the dispensable nation

The U.S. is no longer an international leader. What country will take its place?

President Trump.
(Image credit: Illustrated | Getty Images, iStock)

Mostly because I cannot remember a time when Donald Trump's presidency was not regarded as a danger to "national security" by the media and foreign policy establishment in this country, I am surprised that curiously little attention has been paid to reports about his telephone conversations with world leaders, including the German chancellor Angela Merkel, whom he is said to have called "stupid."

Merkel is our greatest living statesman. She does not appear to have taken any offense. Instead she recognized Trump's words for what they were: confirmation of her belief that America is entering a period of well-nigh terminal decline, one that will necessitate, among other things, taking a long look at the question of how the continent will provide for its own defense in the absence of leadership abroad.

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Matthew Walther

Matthew Walther is a national correspondent at The Week. His work has also appeared in First Things, The Spectator of London, The Catholic Herald, National Review, and other publications. He is currently writing a biography of the Rev. Montague Summers. He is also a Robert Novak Journalism Fellow.