April 30 (UPI) — Having spent nearly a week In London speaking to the usual (and unusual) suspects, some very high up on the political, national security and defense ladder, there is unanimity about the dire consequences the Trump presidency poses for Britain and much of the world in its first 100 days. The gloom, matched by sadness and sorrow seeing the “special relationship” that has bonded the United States and Britain since World War I fray, is so palpable it is almost visible.
Why? The first Trump presidency was bad enough for Britain, but survivable as Trump did not yet grasp the full power or extent of his office. He was also weighed down with two impeachments and four major indictments against him — a very serious set of charges concerning his disregard for the safe storage of highly classified papers in closets and bathrooms at his Mar-a-Lago estate, for which all others would have faced long jail sentences.
But as Trump said, whether in jest or not, his first term was running the country while fighting many legal battles. His second term now “is about running the country and the world.” It is the running of the world, which includes Britain, that is most uncomfortable because of the fear and presumption that Trump is not only incapable — he is neither fit nor competent to take on that role.
While some of his efforts, for example, to seek to end the conflicts in Gaza, Ukraine and with Iran are noble, there is no plan or strategy obvious to Britons in government with these responsibilities. Moreover, by putting a novice in charge — New York real estate magnate Steve Wikoff, who has zero diplomatic experience — these so-called negotiations are viewed here as both reckless and foolish, with little chance of success and a greater likelihood of catastrophic failure.
At one lecture I gave on Arc of Failure: Strategic Delusions in a Dangerous and AI-Driven World, the forthcoming book I am writing with General Sir David Richards, of the several dozen questions put to me, only one or two were about the book. The rest were about Trump and were essentially phrased as “what the hell is happening in America?” From tariffs that are seen as entirely devoid of reason, to attacking universities and elite law firms, the people I saw were almost as one in the level of angst Trump is causing.
At a private session with one of Britain’s most highly-regarded think tanks, with people who knew and understood U.S. and global politics, the unanswerable question was what can or should Britain, Europe and the United States’ friends do in response? In Europe and NATO, the links between Britain, France and Germany were often strong enough to take action in the past when needed. Domestic politics in these two continental states were highly volatile, however, and Britain’s Brexit was not the best foundation for London taking a strong role in Europe.
Three areas were of particular concern. The first being with Trump’s America First global policies, which threaten enough withdrawal to remove the pillars supporting American alliances in Europe and the Pacific over the past 80 years. One very likely consequence is increasing the chance of nuclear proliferation by non-nuclear states as critical to assuring security. Some said this was not whether but when South Korea, Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, as well as Poland and Ukraine with its vast nuclear complex, may build or buy a bomb.
Has the Trump administration even asked this question? Further, the special military and intelligence relationships have been buffeted, if not broken. There was no respect abroad for the key members of Trump’s national security team, especially in the Pentagon and intelligence community. Given how loosely highly classified material was treated and promiscuously spread on Signal by Trump’s most senior officials, “severe reservations” may be the kindest descriptor of reactions.
Third and last, what can be done? While tariffs may resolve themselves as Trump realizes or is forced to realize the economic damage he has wrought, by shaking the major pillars on which Western security has rested, this may be irreparable. To understand the stunning nature of this admission after Trump has been in office for 100 days only suggests the ominous shadow being cast over Britain.
Harlan Ullman is UPI’s Arnaud deBorchgrave Distinguished Columnist, senior adviser at Washington’s Atlantic Council, chairman of a private company and principal author of the doctrine of shock and awe. His next, book co-written with General Sir David Richards, former U.K. chief of defense and due out late next year, is The Arc of Failure: Can Decisive Strategic Thinking Transform a Dangerous World? The writer can be reached on X @harlankullman.
