US reputation hits 'depths not seen this century' — and 'may never recover'

Stengel's warning

A former top State Department public diplomacy official has sounded a stark alarm about America's standing overseas. It has been reported that Richard Stengel, who once called himself the “chief marketing officer of ‘Brand USA,’” wrote in The Guardian that U.S. popularity will “descend to depths it has not seen this century and may never recover to the median levels that we saw with Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan.” Short sentence: that’s a heavy claim.

It has been reported that the conflict with Iran, which began in late February and allegedly killed more than 100 Iranian schoolchildren, has already hollowed out a key foreign-policy tool — soft power. Stengel argues confidence in President Trump’s global stewardship was only around 30–40% before the invasion; “that will be the new ceiling,” he warned. Allies, it has been reported, have condemned the action as unlawful.

Soft power in retreat

Stengel paints a bleak picture: a return of the “Ugly American” stereotype, sans the old rhetoric about democracy. “Since Woodrow Wilson, American presidents have been in the democracy promotion business. That era may now be over,” he wrote. Ouch. Cultural influence, exchange programs, the ability to get buy-in without bullets — all of it is at risk. Soft power isn’t flashy; you only miss it when it’s gone.

Protests at home tell the emotional side of the story — upside-down flags, anger and disbelief. Can Brand USA be rebuilt? Not overnight. The question now is whether diplomacy, not just force, can claw back trust in a fractured moment.

Sources: rawstory.com, Hacker News