Any Administration After Trump Will Be Better

• 20.10.2026, 12:12

NATO will be reborn.

Donald Trump is suspending the sanctions law against Russia, which he himself approved just recently. In Germany, a party calling for an end to aid to Ukraine and the restoration of the “Nord Stream” gas pipeline is surging to power. The government of frontline Estonia is asking for sanctions to be lifted against a Russian state-owned company that is aiding the aggression against Ukraine. One can’t help but wonder: does the “collective West” still exist, or is it a thing of the past?

Were Primakov, Putin, and Xi right?

Any attempt to answer this question runs into another one: Is Trump’s current presidency—unpleasant for Canadians, Europeans, Japanese, and other allies—or is it a sign of a long-term trend toward U.S. self-isolation and its rejection of the role of “leader of the free world,” also known as the “global West”? Moscow and Beijing have given their own answer: the “global West” no longer exists; the era of so-called “multipolarity”—long predicted by Yevgeny Primakov and the Chinese Communist Party—has arrived, an era in which it’s every man for himself.

In reality, so-called “multipolarity” has always been an anti-Western concept. Its essence lies in equating democracies with dictatorships and protecting the latter. Everyone has legitimate national interests and spheres of influence; this must be acknowledged as reality, and we must not “rock the boat” with all sorts of human rights issues. China, with its concentration camps for Uyghurs, or Russia, which poisons opponents of the regime, is no worse than Germany, the United Kingdom, or the United States. And it produces electric vehicles and extracts oil and gas even faster and better than they do.

The policy of the current occupant of the White House is chaotic and lacks even a hint of interest in any kind of concept. But he can, in fact, be considered a supporter of “multipolarity.” Trump respects power; he doesn’t care who he deals with—whether Democratic allies or dictatorships. He measures politics first and foremost by economic and financial yardsticks. He is self-centered and, evidently, envious of the global fame of Volodymyr Zelenskyy. And he couldn’t care less about how many civilians in Kyiv or Odesa died last night.

“Any administration will be better than Trump’s”

However, the situation is changing. Despite the liberalization of oil and gas production and the transformation of the United States into an energy superpower, Trump’s approval ratings have hit a record low. His promises to curb Chinese economic expansion and resolve immigration issues have not been fulfilled. Ukraine enjoys the support of the majority of Americans regardless of their party affiliations, and the Democratic Party has every chance of “taking” the House of Representatives and, possibly, the Senate.

Moreover, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is clearly beginning to pursue his own agenda. He sees himself as a candidate in the 2028 presidential election and is already demonstrating his key difference from his “boss”—the ability to think conceptually. Rubio’s speech on the “revival of the West” in Athens appealed to some, struck others as “reactionary,” and was seen by still others as “ignoring allies in Asia.” But the fact that the secretary of state is not shy about being a “philosopher-politician” already inspires hope amid the cynicism, vindictiveness, and outright incompetence of the current administration.

“After Trump, any administration will be better and will try to rebuild what he destroyed,” an American friend of mine—a former State Department official who is now one of the unofficial coordinators of aid to Ukraine—told me the other day. “Our nuclear umbrella isn’t going anywhere, and neither is NATO. The alliance’s existence is our key national interest.” He believes in America’s ability to “reinvent itself.” That’s how it’s been in the past. But, according to him, this doesn’t mean that everything will go back to the way it was during the Obama or Bush Jr. eras. Europeans, Canadians, Australians, and Japanese will have to understand that they, too, are responsible for the fate of the “free world.”

NATO Will Not Die

As someone living 30 kilometers from the border with Belarus—which is, in essence, a Russian protectorate today—I understand perfectly what my friend is talking about. The sense of danger coming from the east returns anew every morning with a drone alert on my smartphone, a report about yet another foiled assassination attempt on an émigré I know, or an attempt by armed men in camouflage without insignia to breach the border of neighboring Latvia.

In the Baltic states, Poland, and Finland—all of which border Russia—there is now a growing realization that freedom comes at a high price, but it is a price worth paying. Finland has created what is perhaps the best system of border fortifications in Europe; Poland is building a nuclear power plant and transforming its army into the third-largest in NATO after those of the United States and Turkey; and Lithuania is reinstating mandatory military service and developing defenses against drones.

These same countries are also actively developing ties with Taiwan, Japan, and the Philippines—nations that are resisting the economic, political, and military pressure exerted by Russia’s main patron: the communist dictatorship in Beijing. In Vilnius, Taipei, Manila, and Helsinki, people understand that the freedom to choose one’s way of life, to change governments, and to discuss and resolve problems is what is worth fighting for.

This understanding is gradually taking hold in Western Europe, but more slowly than one would like. Although Putin and Xi Jinping are giving London, Berlin, and Paris plenty of reasons to hurry. The revival of the global West will be, first and foremost, the responsibility of those countries that consider themselves on the front lines. They will be the first to reach out to the new U.S. administration. Let the others catch up a little later. It is important that they do catch up.

Konstantin Eggert, “Deutsche Welle”