There has been much talk over the past two years about the “end of the West.” The planned summit between Trump, Putin, and Xi could see these fears become very real.

This is reported by The Guardian , reports Censor.NET .

What is known

In the final two years of his term in office, with the risk of losing control of Congress and his approval rating plummeting, Donald Trump may be feeling the pinch. Domestic legislative action, especially in an era of near-total bipartisanship, has ground to a halt. But as U.S. presidents near the end of their terms and begin to consider their legacy, there is one area of ​​influence they can still exert: the rest of the world.

• Thus, in the final weeks of his presidency in 1992, George H.W. Bush sent 28,000 American troops to Somalia to help end a famine.
• For Bill Clinton, such an attempt was the almost impossible initiative to bring peace to the Middle East by resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
• Barack Obama restored diplomatic relations with Cuba, making a historic visit to Havana, and also made a final successful effort to conclude a nuclear deal with Iran.

In ten days, Donald Trump could enter his own “twilight zone.” He will almost certainly lose control of the House of Representatives: it is quite possible that he will have to deal with the Senate, in which the Democrats will have a majority. Any hopes of passing domestic legislative initiatives (which he did not care much about during his first two years) will be completely gone. Instead, Trump could face a series of investigations that could once again lead to impeachment.

But on the world stage, things will be different. And unlike Bush, Clinton, or Obama, Trump’s ambitions are unlikely to be peacemaking. The first two years of his second term have been disastrous, and the last two could be even worse.

The US is expected to resume its war on Iran after the midterm elections. Trump’s betrayal of Ukraine is already in full swing. Last week he said that “Russia, frankly, has behaved quite normally towards Ukraine,” while his envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in Moscow and called him a “humanist.”

New World Order

In addition to the war in the Middle East and the policy of appeasement in Europe, the shadow of a new world order looms, which Trump will relentlessly strive for in the final years of his presidency. Russia has already proposed holding a summit in China next month involving Putin, Trump, and Chinese leader Xi Jinping .

Such an unprecedented meeting, if it happens, could have devastating consequences for the world. These three leaders have ambitions to change the way the world is governed, essentially dividing it into spheres of influence.

The article notes that one summit will not turn an idea into reality, but it will set the world on a very dangerous path. In Europe, the consequences will extend beyond Ukraine if the United States refuses to help defend countries threatened by Russia. In East Asia, a U.S. “retreat” would cause enormous problems for Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan, as well as for Australia.

There has been a lot of talk over the past two years about the “end of the West.” It seems the time has come when many of these fears may become a reality.

The Trump administration’s desire to divide the world into spheres of influence and side with dictators over democrats has long been evident. Last year’s National Security Strategy was scathingly critical of traditional American allies in Europe and East Asia. But what was most shocking was what it didn’t say. Neither Russia nor China was directly criticized. In the six paragraphs that described the threat to Taiwan, China was not mentioned once. Elsewhere in the document, China was even praised as a “wealthy and powerful country.”

The section on Russia’s aggression against Ukraine did not mention how the war began, nor did it suggest that Putin must be defeated. Instead, the focus was on how the United States could help Europe and Russia mend their relationship. The 33-page document discussed the importance of U.S. control of the Western Hemisphere, but it made clear that as long as the United States maintained its economic dominance, Washington did not care much about whether the rest of the world was protected.

“The affairs of other countries concern us only when their actions directly threaten our interests,” the document said.

For Putin, it’s a success he’s been working toward for nearly three decades. He’s long viewed U.S. support for democracy in Eastern Europe and Central Asia as “interference” in Russia’s sphere of interests. Now there’s a U.S. president who agrees.

Trump has also elevated Putin to a much higher pedestal than the Russian economy and its technological potential deserve.

At the same time, Xi Jinping also welcomes the rhetorical withdrawal of the United States from East Asia, especially if it gives China greater control in the region. Meanwhile, the world’s attitude towards China has improved, while that towards the United States has deteriorated.

It is not just about territorial control. All three leaders see the opportunity for deeper economic ties. For the US and China, the main issues are the future control of economic supply chains and technological platforms, while Russia’s fossil fuel resources are also an important factor. All three countries are key players in the new space race, both in terms of commercial and military control. If these three countries start cooperating, leaving Europe and the rest of the world on the sidelines, it will fundamentally change the nature of geopolitics. A decade ago, talk of a multipolar world was based on the idea of ​​the US, China and the EU as the three most powerful powers. Somehow, Brussels has given way to Moscow.

Until now, the rest of the West has been struggling to get by. NATO still exists on paper, the G7 and G20 summits may be chaotic, but they happen. Optimists point to the fact that Trump attended the UN General Assembly and his administration is still actively involved in the day-to-day running of the organization.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has warned that the old world order will not return, but despite the renewed debate about how Europe can defend itself without the US, there is still a sense that everyone is just waiting for Trump’s term to end. But the potential summit of “great powers” makes this fact even more obvious – it is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.

What are the possible outcomes?

Although American presidents often strive to achieve foreign policy success at the end of their term in office, history shows that they rarely succeed.

Trump will get his photo op at the major power summit, and that may be all he wants. There’s also no guarantee that this dubious “troika” will become a permanent geopolitical fixture. Trump’s foreign policy has divided his MAGA movement and shocked even some traditional conservatives.

But even if Trump doesn’t win, that doesn’t mean the United States won’t lose. He will arrive in China at what is arguably the weakest point of his presidency. He is a “lame duck” (a president in his final months in office) doomed to barely make it to the finish line. Opposing Trump will be two authoritarian leaders in their early 70s who believe the only thing stopping them from ruling their countries for another two decades is death. Given their talk of ways to prolong their lives, it’s possible that they both believe they can rule even longer.

Also read: There were talks about a meeting between Trump, Xi Jinping and Putin, – Rubio

If this summit takes place, it will bring Putin back from international isolation and reaffirm Xi Jinping’s position as a world leader who cannot be ignored. The image of the three leaders will become defining in an era when the rules-based international order is being undermined and a new uncertain period is beginning to take shape. Джерело: https://censor.net/ua/n4030260

(C)UNIAN 2026