Newsweek is reporting that the United States is celebrating its 250th anniversary with a mood tinged with anxiety over its future global role, despite triumphal celebrations from President Donald Trump’s administration. It said the U.S. is seen as a hegemon in retreat, overstretched abroad, polarized at home, with its currency and alliances questioned amid a rising China.
Newsweek said Trump’s “America First” agenda signals a weakening power that overextended itself globally, lost its manufacturing edge, and accumulated unsustainable debt. Trump’s foreign policy focuses on retrenchment to the Americas and requiring allies to increase their own defense spending, leading to cuts in U.S. aid. However, Newsweek also noted that China’s economy has not overtaken the U.S. as widely predicted, faces higher total debt, and has worse demographics with a falling population and fertility rate. It said the U.S. maintains a military advantage, and while American primacy is not secure, decline is often self-inflicted.
Separately, Newsweek is reporting that NATO leaders are set to convene in Ankara next week for a summit strained by allied refusal to join the U.S. war in Iran, a dispute over Greenland, and months of presidential threats to withdraw from the alliance. It also said a new Chinese law aimed at strengthening “ethnic unity” is drawing criticism for accelerating the assimilation of ethnic minorities, particularly through expanded Mandarin-language requirements for young children.
Newsweek reported that acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the United States will no longer honor extradition requests from the International Criminal Court or participate in its investigations. In Africa, Newsweek said the Islamic State continues to expand, developing an enclave along more than 60 miles of Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado coast and 30 miles inland, seeking legitimacy from local people despite military efforts. In Venezuela, Newsweek reported that four police officers were arrested for looting valuables from collapsed buildings following powerful twin earthquakes that killed at least 2,595 people.