Asa's Take: Notes from Abroad
The past two and a half weeks I spent in Switzerland on a French exchange with my school. Arguably the aspect of my presence in another country I was most attentive to was the shifting opinions towards America in 2026. Please note that these are simply my observations and personal experiences, they are not generalizations.
More often than not, the first thing people asked me was “what are your thoughts on Trump?”. Especially amongst young people, which makes sense given his role on social media. I still do not think any European politician or government has been able to harness the power of social media in the way Trump has, not to mention that American culture and politics is so globalized throughout social media.
In Europe, they also know how to cut the crap out of the Epstein saga, specifically in terms of news coverage. There are no side-tracks or attempts to shy away from the shady stuff while even more European royals and powerful people appear on the lists. I did not pay attention to the news to the extent I normally would in America during my time in Switzerland, but there is clearly not the same model of a news cycle that shifts course every 3 days to hook a new set of eyeballs.
I think there is also a very somber tone of mourning for the liberal/rules-based world order and the institutions that are so central to Europe, that thanks to Trump has now been revoked of purpose and responsibility. However, one thing I did not notice so much was looking forward, proposing aggressive solutions, going out on a limb with policies, responsibilities, or even dialogue. Europe can say that they cannot rely on Trump and NATO anymore for common defense, but most of their policy is still yet to reflect that. The defence spending and investment of smaller states such as Poland, Estonia, etc. who border Russia has been on the forefront of change and rather aggressive, but Germany and France are yet to catch up.
My biggest takeaway can be summed up in one word: Responsibility. For a good 80 years, it was a given that the United States had a responsibility for Europe and for the world that it would never revoke. There was no plan B for what would happen if this responsibility went elsewhere, nor was there fortification of the status quo. The institutions of the rules-based world order were not reformed. Democracy did not stop the avalanche of social media and misinformation. Globalization’s ripple effects were ignored. Political polarization was an afterthought. Responsibility requires trust more than anything else. That’s the most simple part of explaining geopolitics in 2026. In the past, Europe trusted America. Now, they do not.
My father’s good friend and an intellectual I look up to, Garrett Graff, wrote a piece in Wired Magazine in January: “We Are Witnessing the Self-Immolation of a Superpower” that perfectly outlines the self-responsibility involved in America’s conduct towards the world:
“Someday we will tell our children about the month of January 2026 in world politics, and they will not be able to fathom what we did to ourselves. Nor will they ever be able to contemplate what the United States once meant to the world beyond.”
P.S. - Towards the end of that piece there is the historical example of European monarchs at Edward VII’s Funeral in 1910 that my father also uses in his lectures. I will probably write about it soon.
Asa