Global Stakes

While the world turned its eyes toward Paris to watch our most elite athletes compete for honor, I had occasion to chat with a pair of German nationals visiting the United States for a monthlong educational experience. The two were mother and daughter; they were thoughtful, reserved, and laughed easily. I was stunned when the younger revealed that just a few days prior, the pair of them had attended a Trump rally in New Jersey to observe a modern American political subculture live and in the flesh.

Unsure how they would be received as foreigners, they didn’t dare speak to each other in their native tongue above a whisper. “What impression did you walk away with?” I asked them. They looked at each other momentarily, and then the mother leaned in and lowered her tone. “The people were just so … normal.” She had expected, she explained, an arena filled with burly, brusque, shouting, belligerent men with shaved heads. Instead, they found themselves among grandmothers pushing small children in strollers and young men who “could have been my classmates!” related the 17-year-old, clearly still surprised. “They were playing ABBA — even ”YMCA.“ It felt more like we were at some kind of a concert than a political event.” She reiterated her confusion at the American conservative right playing a gay disco anthem over the loudspeakers to invigorate the crowd while actively pursuing regressive LGBTQ policy. She turned her palms toward the ceiling, her gesture a request for clarity. I blinked a few times, searching for an explanation that might make sense.

Germany, they informed me, has been having internal discussions about the importance of reducing its economic dependence on the United States. (As of early 2024, the United States is Germany’s number one trading partner.) However, Trump’s threats in 2019 to impose trade sanctions if Germany doesn’t increase military spending is front of mind as they consider the impact of the coming election. After the Second World War, Germany pledged to limit its military capabilities. Despite the reversal of this a few years later in light of Cold War pressures, many Germans even now prefer to keep a low profile and remain hesitant about military spending.

It is easy to become mired in the ways that domestic policy will be impacted by the outcome of our upcoming elections. A 2024 Pew Research Survey revealed that the percentage of Americans who prioritize international relations has fallen since 2019 from 23% to 14%. While it may not be the first item on the list for most Americans, how we present on the global stage also matters. Are we diplomatic in our approach? Do we anticipate or react? Are we overextended? Do we honor our commitments? Can we be trusted? Are we transparent in our self-interest? Do we demonstrate our global citizenship and concern for the greater good? Are we an aspirational example of freedom and prosperity? Are we a cautionary tale? Are we a spectacle?

The world recalls the Trump administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic — the public suggestions of ingesting bleach, downplaying the severity of the threat, the refusal to collaborate with other nations. They also remember his threats at NATO, his proposal to hack away funding for the state department, his unpredictable moody shifts in opinion of world leaders from one hour to the next.

Our incoming leader will be tasked with navigating the ongoing conflicts in nations like Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, and Syria in addition to mounting tensions in Taiwan, Haiti, Pakistan, and more. Despite holding aloft our rugged individualism as a core branding strategy, we are far more interdependent with the rest of the world than we like to let on. The world is watching our political process with both curiosity and concern. It was disconcerting to hear from one of our industrialized allied nation’s citizens that while they were here at this time in history, they made time to visit the nearest Trump rally as if it were a sideshow tent.

“Why don’t they want health care?” they asked me. “If so many of them are also struggling economically, why wouldn’t they support funding social services? Why don’t they support gun control, even after their candidate was almost killed? Why are they so angry? They all just looked so normal.”

The irony is not lost on me that I had this conversation with citizens of a nation where very normal-looking people supported an administration that engaged in horrific acts less than 100 years ago. After much dwelling on this thought, I believe our visitors were so surprised because we have yet to learn from history. This November presents a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate that we have, in fact, gained new perspective on our leadership and the urgency of our responsibility to the global community by supporting Vice President Harris at the ballot box.

Sofia DeMartino is a Gazette editorial fellow. sofia.demartino@thegazette.com