>> I suspect we have seen the beginning of the end of the USA, as a
>> leading global power and as a union of states. Not in our lifetimes of course,
>> but the roots of its demise were sewn in the last 4 years.
I think you are correct. Except the lifetimes bit, I expect to see the beginning of that demise become quite obvious within the next few years. And even sooner if Trump returns.
Of course, if someone decent gets in they could simply unpick it, but nobody will ever trust the US in quite the same way again. Not tat trust is quite the right word, believe in its longevity perhaps.
For the rest of the world, other than the US itself, I don't think that is an entirely bad thing. The US as the world's policemen and the arbiter of acceptable morality was not only become tiresome it was becoming harmful. It was also giving the resentful and bitter a far too easy target to blame for all their ills.
For example, 4 years ago all the worlds cell phone mobile operating systems were US, that is no longer the case. And the two nascent approaches are coming from the two largest cell phone manufacturers in the world, neither of whom are American. A fledgling beginning for sure, but a beginning nonetheless.
It can only be so long before Microsoft, Oracle and Amazon face what Google/Android is facing now.
Ditto chip manufacturers. Ditto so many other areas.
The US as a safe haven for a global business is no longer the view. In fact, if you want to protect your ability to trade freely Trump seems to be proving that it's the last place you should be.
Trump with a second term will be deeply annoying for us all, and very damaging for the US itself. But I'm not sure how bad it is for the world as a whole.
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