| Trump torches allies |
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| Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images |
| President Trump has a new rule for America’s partners: Cross him in one theater, and the consequences will follow you into the next, Axios’ Zachary Basu writes. Why it matters: Trump has spent his second term battering U.S. allies, humiliating their leaders, and using decades-old security relationships to settle personal and political scores. The Iran war has only deepened those impulses: Trump is growing angrier at allies that stayed out of the conflict — and punishing them as he struggles to end it. Zoom in: South Korea — recently hailed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as a “model ally” — is the latest and most surprising casualty in Trump’s retribution campaign.On Sunday, Trump ordered the Pentagon to “substantially reduce” an annual military exercise, citing the cost and his “very good relationship” with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. Trump noted in his Truth Social announcement that he “recently asked the President of South Korea if they would like to join us in the Denuclearization of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and they said, ‘No thanks!'” For years, Europe has borne the brunt of Trump’s assault on American alliances. As the Iran war has widened those transatlantic fractures, his pressure campaign has become more systematic. Bloomberg reports the Pentagon sent NATO allies a survey probing their loyalty to Trump’s foreign policy as it weighs where to keep — or withdraw — U.S. troops. Between the lines: Allies that departed from that submissive posture have already paid a price. The Pentagon moved in May to withdraw roughly 5,000 troops from Germany after Chancellor Friedrich Merz publicly savaged Trump’s Iran strategy. Trump threatened to cut off all trade with Spain after Madrid denied U.S. base access for strikes on Iran. Even Oman — the key intermediary trying to broker a Hormuz deal — is now in Trump’s crosshairs. He threatened yesterday to “bomb the sh*t out of” the longtime U.S. partner if it “gets in the way” of an agreement with Iran. Zoom out: The same war fueling Trump’s fury at U.S. allies is also exposing the limits of American hard power.The 60-day deadline Trump and Iran set for a final peace deal expired yesterday with no agreement — and the two sides further apart than when they signed their June memorandum of understanding. The Strait of Hormuz remains a stubborn monument to that impasse after months of U.S. military and economic pressure. The Navy is pulling the USS George Washington from the western Pacific to relieve the long-deployed USS Abraham Lincoln, temporarily leaving Asia without a U.S. carrier. Share this story. |
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Zoom out: The same war fueling Trump’s fury at U.S. allies is also exposing the limits of American hard power.