Rhetoric eroding America's moral authority
By Leslie Vinjamuri
Updated 1:41 PM ET, Thu April 27, 2017
... The erosion of core international norms, programs and diplomatic practices is underway. In a mere three months, the President has managed to cast a shadow over the United States, raising grave doubts as to whether America is any longer fit to lead the free world ...
The Trump presidency seems hopeful that moral authority can be sustained on the back of hard power alone. Trump's budget proposal seeks to increase military spending and cut (drastically) programs and networks that sustain America's leverage through the exercise of moral authority and soft power. Investments in long-term foreign assistance and international diplomacy are being given short shrift ...
Trump relied exclusively on hard power to respond to Assad's use of chemical weapons. The strikes on Syria's airfield were Trump's boldest statement on behalf of international morality. This has so far proved to be his most popular foreign policy ...
But hard power is costly. It carries risks. And it leaves most jobs undone ...
http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/27/opinions/trump-has-left-a-moral-vacuum-leslie-opinion/
