NY Times: American Catastrophe Through German Eyes

First, I'm much more worried about people like Steve Bannon, Bill Barr and Mitch McConnell — that is, people who have the necessary capacity combined with an utter absence of morals. Trump alone is too stupid to be truly dangerous, but he is enabled by these people.

And, second, the US Covid-19 handling is very effectively destroying the remaining trust that (at least for people in my bubbles) existed in US leadership. Before Covid, there already was stunning surprise at how badly the US could go wrong and how little the checks and balances seemed to work. But it was a "dear god these 4 years need to end quick" reaction. Now it's obvious that even in the face of danger threatening the US' own population, the political apparatus is not capable of pulling together and delivering a rational response (working around broken elements like Trump.) It's spotty at best with some governors and mayors. That's not enough and this is permanent erosion of EU trust in the US. If the US cannot protect its own people, it cannot be relied upon as e.g. a military partner. The "they'll get their act together if push comes to shove" we had before is gone now.

Our what?