US Retreat From Leadership Creates a Vacuum, Author Says — Rolling Stone
US magazine Rolling Stone published a column whose author believes that the policies of US President Donald Trump and the MAGA movement toward the postwar international order are weakening global stability. According to the author, Washington's retreat from traditional leadership is creating a vacuum that Russia, the aggressor state, China, and other countries are seeking to fill.
Criticism of the America First Course
The columnist writes that MAGA supporters viewed the system of US alliances, international institutions, and commitments as a factor weakening the country. At the same time, he argues that revising this approach has not brought stability, and the international situation has become less predictable.
The publication also says that US rivals, in the author's assessment, are acting increasingly aggressively not only against their neighbors but also toward the United States itself. The author mentions Russia's war against Ukraine and states that it extends beyond the battlefield through covert attacks targeting Kyiv's European allies and the United States.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
The Role of the US and Defense Spending
The columnist compares the current situation with the period after World War II, when the United States built a system of alliances, created aid programs, and supported a rules-based international order. He emphasizes that previous US presidents also recognized the country's limited capabilities but, in his view, did not call for abandoning global leadership.
The text cites a 1969 statement by President Richard Nixon that the United States cannot plan and carry out the defense of all the free nations of the world. The author also quotes President Bill Clinton, who said that America cannot solve every problem and should not be the world's policeman.
The author links the reassessment of alliances to rising global defense spending. According to figures cited in the column, global military expenditure reached $2.9 trillion last year, arms sales outside the United States increased by nearly 10% in 2025, and spending by European countries rose by 14%.
