Op-Ed by Mark Rein-Hagen
Once, America was the unshakable pillar of the free world—a nation that stood against tyranny, that led not just with power, but with principle. Now, under Donald Trump, we have become something else entirely… the enabler of despots, the betrayer of allies, and a wrecking ball smashing through the foundations of global stability.
Once, we faced down the Soviet Union; now, we shield Russia from condemnation. Once, we built coalitions; now, we tear them apart. Once, we stood as a beacon of democracy; now, we cozy up to authoritarians who see democracy as a disease to be permanently eradicated.
We have become death, the destroyer of worlds.
We are in not only a crisis of leadership—but a crisis of identity. Are we still the country that defeated fascism, that rebuilt the world after war, that inspired millions to believe in the promise of freedom? Or have we become something darker, something unrecognizable—a decaying empire, rotting from within, led by a conman who trades in taunts and chaos, who sells our power to the highest bidder, and who bows before the very tyrants we once opposed?
History is watching. The world is watching. And the question before us is simple: Will America reclaim its place as the leader of the free world, or will we become just another failed empire, brought down not by our enemies, but by our own hand?
Internal Collapse
We would be fools to believe that America is immune to the kind of internal collapse that has shattered empires before it. If Russia and China have a grand strategy, it is not simply territorial expansion—it is to dismantle the only power capable of stopping them. And they are doing so not through conventional warfare, but through corrosion: eroding trust, inflaming divisions, and turning Americans against one another until the nation is too paralyzed by its own dysfunction to project strength abroad.
Social media is their weapon, and it is as readily sold to the highest bidder as Trump himself. Every algorithm, every misinformation campaign, every outrage cycle fuels their agenda, weakening America from within while our leaders either look away or, worse, actively participate in the unraveling.
And make no mistake—if they succeed, the civilized world as we know it is finished. NATO will be a memory, Europe left to fend for itself, and the world’s fragile balance of power will tilt toward those who see democracy not as a principle, but as an obstacle to be crushed. The modern Mongolian Empire—an axis of autocracy stretching from Moscow to Beijing—will have free rein to impose its will, rewriting the rules of global power in ways that no free nation will survive unscathed.
This is not fearmongering. It is a warning. The great test of our time is not simply whether America can outmatch its adversaries, but whether we can resist the temptation to destroy ourselves from within—by surrendering to rage, by turning on each other with such blind hatred that we repeatedly elevate frauds, conmen, and incompetents to office. And not just in one party, but in both. If we fail, the consequences will not be a temporary political setback. They will be permanent. The idea of America, of democratic governance itself, will be but a blip in history, a brief and failed experiment buried beneath the weight of its own self-inflicted collapse.
The Fall of American Leadership
Once, the United States stood against authoritarianism. Now, under Trump, we have joined it. His presidency has completed the transformation of America from the leader of the free world to an active participant in a new Axis of Evil. The evidence is everywhere. His open admiration for Vladimir Putin, his refusal to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, his rejection of NATO, and his efforts to dismantle global alliances all point to a clear trajectory: an America aligned with autocrats, not democracies.
It is no longer shocking that Trump openly aids Putin’s war aims. The United States, once the standard-bearer for democracy, is now one of the few nations refusing to support international resolutions condemning Russia’s war of aggression. Trump has not only abandoned Ukraine, but he is actively bullying its government into handing over its resources as “payment” for aid provided under Biden—an outright mafia-style shakedown of a war-ravaged nation. This is not diplomacy; it is extortion.
Trump’s betrayal extends beyond Ukraine. He has emboldened China, signaling that Taiwan is unprotected. He has weakened NATO, all but ensuring that Putin will not stop with Ukraine. And if Trump can strike a deal with Putin to divide the world, as he has openly suggested, what stops him from taking Greenland, the Panama Canal, or even parts of Canada? Would NATO, stripped of American support, really come to Canada’s defense if Trump ordered an invasion? Would Europe risk war, or would they strike a deal as they are being forced to do with Putin now?
The Thoughtless Traitor
There was once a time when betraying American allies to enrich oneself was unthinkable. Now, under Trump, it is official US policy and a daily occurrence. Trump’s demand that Ukraine pay back aid with its natural resources does not benefit American citizens—it benefits his oligarchs, the billionaires who surround him. If Ukraine caves to this extortion, the ones who will profit are not the American taxpayers who funded the aid, but corporate elites, oil magnates, and mining tycoons.
This is what makes Trump unique among American leaders—not just his corruption, not just his incompetence, but his willingness to serve foreign powers at the expense of the United States itself. His foreign policy is not about making America stronger—it is about making himself richer. His alliances are not with democratic nations, but with those who share his vision of unchecked power: Putin, Xi, and a growing circle of authoritarians.
And what of his supporters? The ones who once claimed to be patriots? They are watching in silence as Trump actively sells out their country to foreign despots. The man they cheered for “putting America first” is now demanding Ukraine surrender its resources while giving Putin everything he wants, and his followers—blinded by loyalty—applaud.
America: A Nation for Sale
It is no longer a metaphor—America is being actively sold out. Under Donald Trump, the presidency itself has been transformed into a storefront, where influence is auctioned off to the highest bidder and policy is dictated not by national interest, but by personal profit. We are witnessing, in real time, the transformation of the United States into a pay-to-play autocracy, where billionaires, foreign despots, and shady crypto investors can simply buy their way into power.
At the heart of this corruption is Trump Coin ($TRUMP)—a meme cryptocurrency that is, in effect, an open-market bribe disguised as a joke. Trump owns 80% of the supply, meaning every purchase, every surge in value, enriches him directly. Oligarchs from Russia, China, and the Gulf states can now pour millions—billions—into his coffers without ever having to disclose a single cent. They don’t need backroom deals or secret offshore accounts; they simply pump the coin, watch their influence grow, and let Trump cash in.
And it’s working. His administration, now stacked with crypto evangelists and libertarian tech bros, is rolling back regulations, shielding the industry from scrutiny, and opening the floodgates for more financial manipulation. Trump has even promised that those crafting the new regulations will be “people who love your industry, not hate your industry”—a brazen admission that policy is for sale. Just a few days ago, the SEC dropped charges against Justin Sun, a Chinese billionaire, after he pumped $30 million into Trump’s crypto scheme.
Meanwhile, Russia and China, Saudi Arabia and Israel are manipulating Trump just as easily as his robber baron billionaire donors. They not only secretly bribe him, but stroke his ego, launder their influence through social media, and use their state-run propaganda to amplify his message. Social media—the greatest weapon of all in this silent war—has been bought and utterly compromised, flooded with AI-generated disinformation, Trumpist propaganda, and a relentless campaign to divide Americans against themselves.
This isn’t just corruption—it’s the hollowing out of a superpower from within. And as Trump cashes in, selling influence to autocrats and speculators, the real price will be paid by the American people—in lost democracy, lost stability, and a nation that has gone from leader of the free world to just another banana republic, ruled by a grifter who has put the country on the auction block, and worse, has made us allies with our mortal enemies.
We have become a member of the axis of evil, the destroyer of worlds.
A Reckoning Is Coming
All this wanton destruction has consequences. And we don’t need unreliable polls to sense that the tide is already turning. Trump’s reckless policies are already beginning to turn his own supporters against him. Working-class Americans who once saw him as their champion are waking up to the cost of his erratic rule. His tariffs and economic mismanagement are fueling inflation, while his scorched-earth attack on federal agencies, Medicare, and soon Social Security threatens the very safety nets his supporters rely on. The illusion of strength is wearing thin, replaced by a stark reality of instability, economic hardship, and broken promises.
As this backlash builds, a new coalition is forming—one that values competence over spectacle, governance over grievance and grift, and real solutions over empty slogans. The reckoning is coming, and it may arrive sooner than expected. When it does, it will not just be a rejection of Trump. It will be a rejection of the forces—foreign and domestic—that sought to plunge America into chaos. The question is whether we will seize that moment or let it slip through our fingers. Because if we fail, history will not remember us kindly—if it remembers us at all.
Op-Ed by Mark Rein-Hagen
