What’s next for American leadership? United States hit by Trump presidency and pandemic

Abstract

The study presents the situation of the United States experienced by the COVID-19 pandemic and the controversial presidency of Donald Trump. Efforts were made to answer the question of how the superpower was coping with an unprecedented challenge and why the US did not work in this clash. Although the internal situation was also analysed, attention was focused on the external aspect. The main conclusion is that the pandemic has exposed the weakness and incompetence of the Trump administration, as evidenced by the rich toll of deaths and sick that the coronavirus has collected in the US. Nor has the Trump team proven itself internationally, abandoning America’s traditional leadership role in such situations, and showing selfishness or pettiness. The Biden administration has attempted to rebuild the U.S. ranks, but faces a difficult task. The new team’s first moves not only brought the US back to the traditional trajectory of US foreign policy, where principles and standards matter, credibility and predictability are important. The process of strengthening the US role has also resulted in the reconstruction of transatlantic relations, which are one of the pillars of America’s strength on the international stage. The article adopts a research strategy based on the tracking of events, their evaluation, qualitative and critical analysis of texts, conducting comparative evaluations.