The Emperor Has No Clothes On: Trump 2.0
President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance clash with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting
Credit: The White House / Wikimedia Commons
In 1837, a Danish fairy tale titled The Emperor’s New Clothes was published. The village king, always praised for his fashion sense, was convinced by con men that they could weave a beautiful cloth that was invisible to those “unfit for the job” they held or those “very simple in character.” They were paid generously and told to make new clothes for the Emperor. With the finished product in hand, they draped the Emperor in nothing but air yet at risk of being called foolish, he merely imagined its beauty and walked around the capital in his underwear. Although they were initially hesitant to call the Emperor out for only wearing his undergarments, the subjects finally cried “The Emperor has nothing at all on!” but his lords kept the appearance up by carrying his imaginary cape. And so the procession went on. Now, over 180 years later, striking parallels are seen in another capital: Washington, DC.
On February 19, the official Instagram account for the White House posted a computer-generated TIME magazine cover with President Donald Trump wearing a crown after ending the congestion pricing program in New York City, with the cover line reading “Long Live The King.” New York Governor Kathy Hochul said in a press conference, holding up the mock cover, that “We are a nation of laws, not ruled by a king.” This comes just under a month after Mr. Trump took office for the second time, and within hours of his inauguration, he began signing executive orders. As of March 23, he signed 98 executive orders into power on a whole range of issues, from pausing the ban on TikTok to establishing the Department of Government Efficiency. This flurry of orders, however, does not concern solely domestic issues; they have also been causing mayhem for foreign affairs. The Trump Administration has 9 orders concerning global affairs that, among other actions, withdraw the US from the United Nations Human Rights Council and impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court for its prosecution of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Mr. Trump’s “America First” diplomacy has invited chaos to have a seat at every negotiation table, wrecking the US’ reputation and the values for which it stands.
On February 4, during a visit by Prime Minister Netanyahu, President Trump suggested that the US take a “long-term ownership position” in Gaza by developing the land after displacing its 2.2 million residents. Even more unsettling, his Instagram account posted a bizarre AI-generated video, originally made as a satirical jab to the administration, showcasing a futuristic “Trump Gaza” in which resorts and luxury condominiums dominate the strip and Mr. Trump and others enjoy a lavish lifestyle. The suggestion brushed aside the nuances of sovereignty and Palestinian self-determination while the video was beyond insensitive, and nowhere does the Trump Administration seem to account for the fact that forcibly removing Palestinians from their homes would be illegal under international law. The embarrassment, however, continues. President Trump’s supposed first victory came in the form of cutting deals with Mexico and (soon to be 51st state, according to Mr. Trump) Canada with ‘masterful brinkmanship’ as his supporters may call it. Mr. Trump threatened 25% tariffs on all Mexican and most Canadian goods, forcing its two heads of state to give into the demands of the President. The deal that was born out of this pressure was that Canada would add a fentanyl czar and deem Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations meanwhile Mexico would station 10,000 more National Guard troops at the US-Mexico border. Analysts say that the US gains little from these ‘concessions’: there is a negligible amount of fentanyl flowing into the US from Canada and 10,000 Mexican troops are already deployed at the border, with the additional 10,000 not even being newly deployed but rather moving from elsewhere in the country. Furthermore, analysts also say that the tariffs were not entirely necessary to achieve these deals, however futile its efforts may be. Mr. Trump has been known for his business acumen when he was a private citizen but so far, his deals seem to be pyrrhic victories at best.
The image of the US decays with every press conference President Trump holds as world leaders carousel in and out of the White House. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited to discuss American involvement in NATO and the war in Ukraine but at his joint press conference with the President, he was asked whether they had discussed Mr. Trump’s call for Canada to become a part of the US. In the middle of his answer to say that it was not discussed, Prime Minister Starmer was interrupted by Mr. Trump, saying “That’s enough,” forcing Mr. Starmer to move on to the next question. Europe, NATO, and Ukraine have taken center stage in the last few weeks with President Trump reportedly in talks with Russia to possibly end the war in Ukraine, though it is unclear what Ukraine may look like in its culmination. A pattern was clarified too: American partners are not afraid to stand up to Mr. Trump’s undiplomatic behavior. The most recent spat that caught the global stage by surprise was with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in their meeting. This time, President Trump had backup in the form of Vice President JD Vance who attacked President Biden’s Ukraine strategy and instead praised Mr. Trump for the alternative: “What makes America a good country is America engaging in diplomacy.” President Zelenskyy, however, refuted such a claim, saying that the US had not given security guarantees in the past which is why Russia was able to break the previous ceasefire agreement and invade Ukraine in 2022. Vice President Vance did not appreciate the live fact check and like clockwork, the reply opened the floodgates of belittling: “It’s disrespectful for you to come to the Oval Office and try to litigate this in front of the American media… Have you said thank you once?” President Trump joined in too: “You’ve done a lot of talking. Your country is in big trouble”, “With us, you have the cards, but without us, you don’t have any cards.” President Zelenskyy came to Washington to sign a mineral deal that would give the US an additional revenue stream to slowly recover the billions it has sent to Ukraine over the last few years. Yet, interlocutors turned interrupters, Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance spoke over Mr. Zelenskyy, who tried his best to defend himself in his third language. The meeting drew to a close and the Ukrainian President was told to leave the White House without signing the mineral deal.
Besides unnecessary arguments and berating, the meeting was also filled with falsehoods. Despite what Vice President Vance claimed, President Zelenskyy had shared his gratitude, not just to senators before his row at the Oval Office but also at the beginning of that very meeting, personally thanking President Trump. ‘$350 billion’ was what Mr. Trump claimed was the total aid given to Ukraine through “this stupid president,” referring to former President Biden, even though the real number is much lower. Mr. Vance even accused Mr. Zelenskyy of campaigning for the Democrats in Pennsylvania, nevermind that he was referring to an event where President Zelenskyy was thanking American factory workers for producing munitions for Ukraine. What motivated Mr. Zelenskyy to push back that day was the danger President Trump could pose to Ukraine by undermining international backing and pulling American support. This meeting came after statements and posts made by Mr. Trump that claimed Ukraine started the war and that President Zelenskyy was a dictator. All the while, he pushes for a rapid ceasefire with Russia, the demerits of which Mr. Zelenskyy was trying to outline before the loud reprimands came crashing down. Namely, a rapid ceasefire with Russia with no security guarantees would merely pause the war, not end it, giving time for President Putin to regroup his forces and possibly mount a larger attack in the future. It was this existential threat that loomed over President Zelenskyy in the Oval Office but for President Trump, there is no war, only deals to be cut and cards to be played.
The real disrespect that day was to the norms and conventions that have governed diplomacy for decades now and to the values for which the presidency stands. More American allies must defy his absurdity, like French President Emmanuel Macron did when he became a live fact-checker during their press conference in February. In the US, it cannot solely be Democrats who criticize President Trump’s conduct and actions. Republicans must speak out alongside them but it is all too rare to see cracks in party unity, with instances like Senator Roger Marshal (R-KS) walking out of a town hall rather than facing critical questions from his constituents. Perhaps the lords could cope with letting the Emperor prance around town in his underwear, but allowing Mr. Trump to have that same pleasure would be foolish and an insult to the nearly 250-year-old American experiment.