A Business of Fear - How Trump Seeks to Cement His World Order with Weapons, Tariffs and Threats While Europe Looks Awfully Outdated

It was only a sentence, but one that says everything about the new geopolitical thinking in Washington under Donald Trump: "We're sending weapons to NATO, and NATO is paying for them, 100 percent." With this phrasing, the president bypassed any debate about direct military aid to Ukraine - and made it equally clear that his America acts only as a merchant, no longer as a protector. The weapons, Trump continued, would no longer go directly to Kyiv, but to NATO states, which would then pass them on to Ukraine themselves - as mere resellers. For many observers, this is not just a bureaucratic trick, but the expression of a new attitude: whoever wants to fight Russia should damn well pay for it themselves. Europe has completely failed. Sure, there's talk about rebuilding Ukraine, but "Helloooo," boys and girls from high politics: "Ukraine is being bombed daily, maybe you noticed." But the hors d’oeuvres in Rome were probably delicious. From very reliable sources we know that Trump is selling at top prices, and yes, somehow you have to "collect tariffs." US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a close Trump confidant, clarified the procedure on Friday during a visit to Kuala Lumpur. Some of the weapons Ukraine urgently needs are already with NATO allies in Europe. These could now be quickly forwarded - and in return, European countries would buy replacements from American manufacturers. "It’s a lot faster to move something from Germany to Ukraine than it is to order it from a factory in the US," Rubio said. Let's all think: "So the route from the US to Ukraine is longer than from the US to Germany, and then from Germany to Ukraine? Great joke. OK, let’s just hope Deutsche Bahn isn’t involved, then it’ll get really uncool, and a Ukraine ticket doesn’t exist yet." The logic behind this is not new, but it has been radicalized in its resolve: the US is no longer delivering out of solidarity, but only with upfront payment - and leaves the responsibility of pushing back Putin to the Europeans.

At the same time, Trump spoke to reporters that very day - not only about weapons and war, but also about his increasingly tense relationship with Moscow. He confirmed that a Ukrainian hospital had been hit by a Russian strike and announced an “important statement” for Monday. It sounds like escalation - but also like calculated staging. Trump literally said: “You’ll be seeing things happen.” At the same time, another front of his foreign policy came into focus: Brazil. In unusual openness, Trump threatened the country with new tariffs if its judiciary did not drop the case against former President Jair Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro is on trial for allegedly trying to overturn the 2022 election result - an attack on democracy that is being legally prosecuted in Brazil. But Trump sees it differently: "I know the honest ones, and I know the crooked ones," he said to reporters at the White House. Bolsonaro, he implied, is one of the good guys. If the case is not dropped, he plans to impose a 50 percent import tax on Brazilian products starting August 1. Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva responded coolly. There was no reason to speak with Trump, he said in an interview with TV Globo. He had sent congratulations after the election, more wasn’t necessary. He was willing to speak to Trump “if necessary” - just as he had with Clinton, Bush, Obama and Biden. But Trump’s behavior was disrespectful: “He could have called Brazil or at least sent a letter. Instead, he simply published something on his website.” It was “a total lack of respect.”

While on the international stage pressure, weapons and threats are being used, the US is struggling internally with one of the worst natural disasters in recent years. In Texas, at least 120 people have died due to the flooding around the Guadalupe River. Trump personally traveled to Kerrville on Friday to see the situation for himself. "Nobody can believe what happened here," he said before departing from the White House. "So much water, so fast - it’s just terrible." While still en route, the White House announced that the disaster designation had been extended to eight additional counties. “I thank President Trump and his administration for their swift and continued support,” said Governor Greg Abbott. More regions could follow as damage assessments come in. But that wasn’t the only noteworthy step taken by the administration that day. White House Budget Director Russell Vought announced that the Republicans’ long-standing plans to defund public broadcasting in the US would now be carried out. NPR and PBS - long valued as independent sources of information - are facing the end of their federal funding. Vought said there was “finally the opportunity” to make it happen, “without the old excuses.” Almost in passing, Vought added that the independence of the US central bank, the Federal Reserve, was also up for debate. Asked whether the Fed should continue to operate independently, he replied: “The question is irrelevant.” Instead, he criticized the planned renovation of the Fed building - supposedly too expensive. At the same time, the White House is increasing pressure on Fed Chairman Jerome Powell to lower interest rates. Powell was a “bad pick,” said Vought, who claimed he “has been late at every turn.” If the economy is so strong, CNBC journalist Joe Kernen asked, why push for rate cuts? Vought’s answer: inflation isn’t a problem - they just want Americans to benefit from cheaper mortgages. In the late afternoon, the White House released Trump’s travel schedule: after visiting the flood victims in Texas, the president and First Lady Melania Trump would travel on to the Trump Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey. But Asia also remains in focus for US strategy. From July 20 to 22, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will visit the United States. According to US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, military cooperation will be discussed, particularly joint exercises in the South China Sea. The goal is to strengthen security through deterrence, as Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Manuel Romualdez explained. This too is part of the new course: weapons exports, threats and regional military presence instead of multilateral diplomacy. Trump's America seems determined not to repair the world order - but to extort a new one.