OPINION | SA must recognise that the US is not coming to help

The decline of the US as a global superpower and beacon of democracy began gradually before accelerating into a sudden and dramatic downturn. Presiding over this decline is Donald Trump, the recently elected narcissist president, bolstered by a motley crew of craven and venal politicians, along with self-serving businessmen who enable his agenda.

The downfall is a choice accelerated by Trump’s reckless policies, both at home and abroad. The emergence of Brics, with SA as a key member, is not an insurrection against the global order but a rebalancing of power towards multipolarity. Yet, instead of adapting to this shifting landscape, the US has chosen to alienate its friends, estrange its allies and hasten its decline through a series of disastrous miscalculations and unreliability as a partner that changes foreign policy positions on a whim.   

For SA, the implications are dire. US policies have never been about aiding developing nations; US assistance is not generosity — it is leverage. Trump has utterly dispelled any pretence of seeking to shore up SA’s fledgling democracy.

Under his administration, aid is openly weaponised to punish those who refuse to acquiesce to Washington’s foreign policy dictates. When the US withdrew from the World Health Organisation, it did not just weaken global health efforts; it undermined its own pharmaceutical and healthcare interests.

Like a seasoned snake oil salesman, Trump has rebranded the dismantling of the American empire as the “rebuilding” of his nation. Imposing additional tariffs on China was never about countering Beijing — it was about concealing Washington’s loss of economic dominance.

Trump is a bully, and like most bullies, he crumbles when confronted with resistance. His brand of intimidation thrives on fear and submission, but those who push back often expose his bluster for what it is — an empty show of force. Canada and Mexico demonstrated this when they responded to Trump’s aggressive trade policies with their own retaliatory tariffs, forcing the US to reconsider its hardline approach.

The US, once the enforcer of a global order based on military and economic coercion, now claims to be besieged by the very forces it unleashed. Trump’s corrupt demand for a $500bn (R9.2-trillion) “reparation” from Ukraine, while simultaneously courting deals with Russia, lays bare the transactional nature of his geopolitics — one devoid of principle and steeped in opportunism.

The economic decline of the US is quantifiable. In January 2024, the US Census Bureau reported that 11.5% of Americans — about 37.9-million people — were living in poverty. If socioeconomic conditions were a determinant for citizenship, these Americans would be classified as residents of a developing or underdeveloped country.

The irony is not lost on those who have historically been subjected to American moral grandstanding on democratic governance, economic stability and peacemaking.   

If anything, the US has, over the years, learnt more from its genocidal ally Israel about killing people than about coexisting with them. Trump’s policies have reflected this, prioritising militarisation over diplomacy. Whether through the alienation of allies or the reckless decoupling from global economic networks, his administration has set the US on a path of self-imposed isolation.   

Meanwhile, Afrikaners, led by AfriForum, have played into Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu's hands, amplifying their unfounded claims of genocide and land grabs. This narrative has emboldened the US and Israel with a proxy war against SA at the International Court of Justice while simultaneously seeking to justify the annexation of Palestinian territory. SA, a country with its history of confronting apartheid, finds itself caught in this geopolitical crossfire as reactionary forces weaponise falsehoods to shield colonial expansionism under the guise of victimhood.   

Now, SA finds itself in a similar position, facing the threat of exclusion from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) and potential economic sanctions. These threats are not based on legitimate concerns but on a web of falsehoods spun by AfriForum and its allies — desperate to weaponise misinformation for their gain.

Despite the looming economic hardships these punitive measures could bring, President Cyril Ramaphosa is right to take a firm stance against this brazen bullying and foreign interference. SA is a sovereign democracy, not a vassal state. Capitulating to these threats would not only undermine our nation’s independence but would also embolden those who seek to dictate our foreign policy. 

The reality is clear: SA, like much of the Global South, must recognise that the US is not coming to help — it is coming to help itself as encapsulated through Trump’s “America First” mantra. The posturing of American exceptionalism has collapsed under the weight of its contradictions. As Washington continues to unravel, the world must prepare for the next chapter — one in which America is no longer the centre but a cautionary tale of how empires fall.

• Khaas is founder and chairman of Public Interest SA

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