Trump's grasping for 'quick and easy wins' will lead to 'long-term damage': NYT

An early win by Donald Trump in the first two weeks of his second term could lead him to misjudge how much he can use threats against allies which could be disastrous in the long run for the U.S.

According to a report from the New York Times' Peter Baker, Trump's early decision to jump with both feet into using tariffs to bully allies like Mexico and Canada, and rivals like China, has other countries watching and looking for clues as as to handle the president going forward.

According to Baker, Trump's early confrontation with Colombia with a tariff threat went his way that time and gave him an early and quick win, and he likely believes his his latest strong- arming tactics will work every time –– which has experts shaking their heads.

ALSO READ: 'Driven to self-loathing': Inside the extremist website believed to 'groom' teen attackers

"Veterans of foreign affairs and international trade said that quick and easy wins may do long-term damage. By basing relations with other countries on brute economic force and naked self-interest rather than shared values and mutual goals, they said, Mr. Trump may push some away from the U.S. orbit and toward the likes of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia or President Xi Jinping of China," wrote Baker.

Daniel M. Price, a former trade adviser to President George W. Bush, explained, "Our allies struggle to differentiate Trump from Putin or Xi. They feel not like allies but like vassals. U.S. coercion and bellicosity create incentives for increased alignment with, or at least accommodation, of our geopolitical rivals.”

Trump's launching of the Mexico and Canadian tariffs over the weekend will be a test that could blow up in his face.

According to Mark Dubowitz, chief executive of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, "At some point, to keep those threats credible, he will need to kill a chicken to scare the monkeys — take down an enemy or a recalcitrant ally in order to frighten others that he is serious.”

“He’s counting on the hope that no one wants to be that first chicken. But at some point, someone will challenge him. The monkeys are watching,” he added.

You can read more here.