Politico columnist Alexander Burns argues that President Donald Trump's second-term actions implemented irreversible changes to American foreign policy and diplomacy. Trump has pursued dominance assertions ranging from Venezuela and Greenland to military strikes on Iran and botched NATO trade negotiations, confirming warnings former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris made during the 2024 campaign. Burns contends that future presidents cannot simply restore previous diplomatic approaches. Détente with Iran and Cuba that former President Barack Obama pursued has permanently closed. America's credibility as a trade negotiator is "changed forever," making restoration of Bush-era trade relations impossible. NATO's relationship with the U.S. cannot revert to 1998 levels through rhetoric alone. Burns criticizes Biden's failed efforts to repair norms and repair democratic institutions, arguing that the window to bridge to the twentieth century has permanently closed.
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