20 July 2024

Rest of World Watches U.S. Turmoil With Growing Alarm

David Luhnow, Bertrand Benoit and Ian Lovett

The attempted assassination of Donald Trump, coming so soon after President Biden’s stumbles during the recent presidential debate, is reinforcing an impression outside the U.S. that the world’s pre-eminent superpower is entering an unusually turbulent and unpredictable period, prompting allies to question its reliability and foes to gloat.

The images of a bloodied Trump being rushed from the stage captured global attention, and for many painted a picture of an America increasingly at odds with itself—a country that has a strong economy but a dysfunctional and dangerously divided political landscape.

In foreign capitals around the globe, the attempted killing of Trump and Biden’s repeated gaffes have changed the political and diplomatic calculus, sending many governments scrambling to prepare for a second Trump presidency as the most likely scenario, due to growing voter concerns about Biden’s mental fitness and a likely groundswell of sympathy for Trump following the failed attempt.

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