America First president is overturning the world order

He has launched an unprecedented global tariff war and slashed U.S. foreign aid. He has disparaged NATO allies and embraced Russia's narrative about its invasion of Ukraine. And he has spoken about annexing Greenland, retaking the Panama Canal and making Canada the 51st state.In the chaotic first 100 days since President Donald Trump returned to office, he has waged an often unpredictable campaign that has upended parts of the rules-based world order that Washington helped build from the ashes of World War II.

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The Reuters Tariff Watch newsletter is your daily guide to the latest global trade and tariff news. Sign up here. "Trump is much more radical now than he was eight years ago," said Elliott Abrams, a conservative who served under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush before being appointed U.S. special envoy on Iran and Venezuela in Trump's first term. "I have been surprised. "Trump's second-term "America First" agenda has alienated friends and emboldened adversaries while raising questions about how far he is prepared to go. His actions, coupled with that uncertainty, have so unnerved some governments that they are responding in ways that could be difficult to undo, even if a more traditional U.S. president is elected in 2028.

All this comes amid what the Republican president's critics see as signs of democratic backsliding at home that have raised concerns abroad. These include verbal attacks on judges, a pressure campaign against universities and the transfer of migrants to a notorious El Salvador prison as part of a broader deportation drive. "What we're seeing is a huge disruption in world affairs," said Dennis Ross, a former Middle East negotiator for Democratic and Republican administrations. "No one is certain at this point what to make of what's happening or what will come next."