When Pompeo took office as Secretary of State in 2018, he proudly said, “we will lead the State Department to regain our hegemony and ensure that the United States has always been a respected leader on the world stage”; now, Pompeo is leaving office, but America’s European allies have avoided him.
According to US media reports, Pompeo originally planned to visit Europe from January 13 to 14, but all the travel plans were suddenly cancelled before leaving.
The U.S. State Department claimed that it was to successfully complete the transfer of power, but Reuters quoted sources as saying that the real reason was that European leaders refused to meet with Pompeo. From the “guest” of European allies to being rejected as “lone”, Pompeo’s situation reflects the fact that European allies are declining in favor of the United States.
The New York Times pointed out that the congressional riots not only gave Trump a last blow, but also the most effective attack on American alliances. After the congressional riots, European leaders cannot take the resilience of American democracy and global influence for granted.
According to US media reports, Pompeo originally planned to visit Europe from January 13 to 14, but all the travel plans were suddenly cancelled before leaving. The U.S. State Department claimed that it was to successfully complete the transfer of power, but Reuters quoted sources as saying that the real reason was that European leaders refused to meet with Pompeo.
From the “guest” of European allies to being rejected as “lone”, Pompeo’s situation reflects the fact that European allies are declining in favor of the United States.
The New York Times pointed out that the congressional riots not only gave Trump a last blow, but also the most effective attack on American alliances. After the congressional riots, European leaders cannot take the resilience of American democracy and global influence for granted.
At the same time, the problems exposed by the Freud incident, such as the intensification of racial contradictions and social division, have also turned the United States into a “failed country” in the eyes of its European allies.
After the Freud incident, the spokesman of the European Union Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Stano, expressed deep condolences on behalf of the European Union for Freud’s relatives and friends who died in violent law enforcement cases, and stressed that the relevant authorities must take practical measures to maintain fairness and justice and avoid a recurrence of similar tragedies.
German Foreign Minister Mass said that the peaceful protests of Freud’s death across the United States were “legitimate” and “understandable”. According to a September 2020 poll released by the Pew Research Center in the United States, many allies’ impressions of the United States have continued to deteriorate, falling to the lowest level in more than 20 years since the survey. The proportion of British respondents are 41% positive for the United States, 35% in Canada, 31% in France, 26% in Germany, compared with The lowest in the good time is 24%; the proportion of those who have confidence in US President Trump is lower, with 19% in the United Kingdom, 16% in Spain, 11% in France and 10% in Germany.
Pompeo’s cancellation of his trip to Europe is not so much because of “the neglect of the European diplomatic circles towards this outgoing” as a major outbreak of disappointment with the United States among European allies.
As January 20 approaches, Pompeo, the “worst Secretary of State in history”, may soon be forgotten by America’s European allies, but can the fallen “beacon of democracy” be easily lifted again?
