CNN’s Fareed Zakaria reflected on the impact President Trump’s isolationist leanings have had on the world at large.


CNN's Fareed Zakaria on December 31 reflected on the impact President Trump's isolationist leanings have had on the world at large.
He began with the number of international leaders and high-ranking officials who have acknowledged the "abdication of America's international leadership" and urged Europe "to define its interests and take its destiny into its own hands." 
"This then is the condition of the new international system today. Its creator, upholder, and enforcer, the United States, has withdrawn into self-centered isolation," Zakaria goes on to note.
It combined with Europe's inability to swiftly take over the leading role, Zakaria states, has allowed "China, Russia, and a host of smaller illiberal powers [to surge] forward to fill the vacuum."
Zakaria, who predicted a while ago that a "post-American world" would not necessarily be triggered by the fall of the U.S., but come through the "rise of the rest," says that time is now approaching more rapidly. 
He comments that such an end has been "dramatically accelerated by the Trump administration's foolish and self-defeating decision to resign as the world's leader." 
"As the president might say in one of his tweets, 'Sad!'" Zakaria further notes.
During his presidency, Trump has cited American interests while taking many controversial actions like withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement. His speeches also reflect that message.
"This is the United States of America that I'm representing. I'm not representing the globe," Trump said during a speech in February. "I'm representing your country."