Updated February 24, 2025 at 11:59 AM ET
President Trump's cozying up to Russian President Vladimir Putin marks a significant departure from decades of U.S. foreign policy.
For years, U.S. policies have been in place to isolate Russia over its full scale invasion of Ukraine, but the Trump administration is now poised to make a deal with the Kremlin to end the war without Ukraine having much of a say.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz held talks with Russian officials last week to begin hammering out a Russia-Ukraine peace deal. Ukrainian officials say they were not invited.
Meanwhile, President Trump is falsely blaming Ukraine, a U.S. ally, for starting the war three years ago. Even before these events, Trump was already showing willingness to treat other allies adversarially, including those from NATO – a partnership formed after the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.
Morning Edition is exploring the repercussions of America's foreign policy reversals and realignments under President Trump with different writers, analysts and leaders.
Historian and writer for The Atlantic Anne Applebaum says this departure from traditional U.S. foreign policy is "radical" given that Russia is a daily threat to the rest of Europe.
Applebaum, who last year published the Pulitzer Prize-winning Autocracy Inc. The Dictators Who Want to Rule the World, adds that Trump's maneuvering is raising concerns not just in Europe but also in the capitals of allies around the world.
She shared these thoughts and more in an interview with NPR's Leila Fadel about what Trump's approach means for global stability:
What Trump's willingness to work with a dictator signals to the rest of the world
U.S. foreign policy has for about 80 years been based on a network of alliances and institutions that allowed the country "to project power, to create zones of prosperity, to enjoy trade with like-minded partners," Applebaum said, noting that it extended mainly to Europe but also worked in Asia.
Trump is effectively signaling that he's no longer interested in hearing from European allies, Applebaum said, and that he's aligning with a power that is a daily threat to Europe. She notes that there are frequent incidents of sabotage in the Baltic Sea and almost daily cyberattacks across the continent from Russian hacking groups.
"By doing that, Trump is saying, 'I don't care anymore about alliances. I'm not interested in your opinions. I'm going to do a deal with this dictator over your head,'" Applebaum said. "And that's a message that is heard not just in every European capital, but in every allied capital around the planet as a sign that the U.S. is changing."
Shifting away from allies raises economic concerns and questions about stability
Trump's approach so far has so many implications that "they're almost hard to think through," Applebaum said.
"What happens to our trade relationships with Europe and with Asia? What about the US companies that have enjoyed special favor in those markets?" Applebaum said.
She notes that U.S. defense companies, nuclear power companies, and various other utility providers have been welcomed by those countries because "as a way of expressing their fealty to the United States."
And then there are concerns about peace. What happens to treaties not just on commerce, but treaties on the laws of war, Applebaum wonders.
"All these things that have governed U.S. behavior and allied behavior all over the world for 80 years, now disappear," Applebaum said.
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