An era of distrust emerges between the US and its Western allies

United States President Donald Trump in Davos, Switzerland, January 22, 2026. LAURENT GILLIERON/AP

One could imagine a concise entry in a geopolitical dictionary: "United States (1944-2025): a global power and leader of the Western bloc, relying on the dollar, an unmatched economy, a peerless military and its influence in the name of liberal values." These were the terms that defined American greatness for decades, despite episodic crises from the Vietnam War to those in Afghanistan and Iraq. American exceptionalism was never a reality, but simply invoking it served as a political horizon and a rallying banner.

With Donald Trump's return to power and the major transformation he is driving, as highlighted at the Davos conference, some elements of that definition are still intact. The strength of the dollar, of the US domestic market, of the country's capacity for innovation and of its military power all remain, despite the rise of China as a major rival. However, America has lost two essential components: its global influence, which was once partly ensured by the dismantled development agency USAID, and, above all, the trust inspired by its word.

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Davos takes stock of a transatlantic alliance trampled by Trump