Chicago – July 20, 2024
Amid the bedazzled red, white and blue cowboy hats and Trump-themed socks, there were a handful of less enthusiastic attendees wandering the Republican National Convention this week.
They are the foreign ambassadors bracing for the real possibility of a second term for former President Donald Trump, who tested longstanding diplomatic and trade relationships during his four years in the White House.
After a stable period of attempted fence-mending by President Joe Biden, a Trump restoration could bring massive changes.
Trump has been openly skeptical of NATO and has repeatedly toyed with the idea of withdrawing the U.S. from the military alliance, which has grown in strength under Biden in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
He has proposed a 10% tariff on all goods imported into the country.
And his new vice presidential pick, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, has been one of Congress’ most vocal skeptics of continued U.S. aid for Ukraine, which European nations agree is crucial to deterring future attacks from Russia on the rest of the continent. On one night of the convention, attendees were given signs proclaiming “Trump will end the Ukraine war.”
