Why Trump’s foreign policy is pushing the world toward chaos
By Graham Pennicott, Op-Ed
The world order is not collapsing by accident. It is being actively dismantled, and the most alarming truth is this: the United States, under President Donald Trump, is leading that destruction.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine shattered a core principle of international law—sovereignty. China’s military drills around Taiwan threaten to do the same in Asia. But what has shocked the world most is Washington’s own conduct. The capture of Venezuela’s sitting president and the claim that the United States now “runs” the country represents an unprecedented violation of state sovereignty by the very nation that once claimed to defend international law.
Words matter as much as actions. When President Trump openly threatens to take over Greenland or suggests that Canada could become the 51st state, he legitimizes imperial thinking long buried after World War II. This is not fringe rhetoric—it is presidential language, and the world is listening.
That is why German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier issued a stark warning: the world must not descend into a “den of robbers,”where the strong seize whatever they want and the weak are left defenseless. His message was clear—and unprecedented for a close U.S. ally: America is no longer acting as a guardian of order, but as a contributor to chaos.
When the world’s most powerful nation abandons restraint, international law becomes meaningless. Every regional strongman receives the same signal: borders are negotiable, sovereignty is optional, and power is the only currency that matters.
The world order is not dead yet, but is in a state of profound collapse . Under President Trump, it is being systematically strangled. If this continues, history may record that the rules-based international system did not fall to America’s enemies—but to America itself.
