The US has shifted from anchoring a liberal international order to signaling it stands for nothing beyond its own power and interests. This amoral, transactional stance has alienated democratic allies and eroded the nation's soft power on the world stage.

Rahm Emanuel posits that the world's two superpowers are holding it hostage by externalizing their domestic problems. China exports its economic dysfunction, crushing global manufacturing, while the US under Trump exports its political and cultural dysfunction, exacerbating tensions abroad.

A country's power on the world stage is not just military or economic might, but its belief in its own value system. When a nation ceases to indoctrinate its next generation with these values and loses the will to defend them, it cedes global influence to other powers with stronger ideological conviction.

National security requires a toolbox of military, economic, political, and cultural instruments. The Trump administration has focused almost exclusively on military power, degrading the capacity of other essential tools and leaving the U.S. more isolated on the world stage.

Focusing on the specifics of legislation is a losing strategy. Politics is downstream of culture, meaning the underlying values and narratives of a society determine which policies are accepted. The real fight is for the 'soul of a country,' which happens at the cultural level, not in policy papers.

While military capabilities can be questioned, overt corruption like the Trump administration settling a lawsuit with an agency it oversees has "set on fire" America's soft power. This reputational damage from becoming a perceived kleptocracy diminishes global leadership and trust more than a tactical loss.

China is successfully capitalizing on perceptions of American political instability. By presenting itself as a rational, stable power with a long-term vision, it is attracting allies who are weary of the US's perceived chaotic and unhinged behavior on the world stage.

The inability to execute basic administrative functions, like correctly appointing a prosecutor, is more than just embarrassing—it's a national security risk. It projects weakness and incompetence on the world stage, eroding the 'brand' of American capability and emboldening adversaries who see a clown car instead of a superpower.

Soft power isn't just cultural influence; it is a strategic tool for achieving goals without force. It works by making other nations admire a country's values and aspire to its prosperity, effectively co-opting them to desire the same results, as opposed to coercing them through military or economic threats.