As the postwar liberal order unravels, new arrangements will be necessary | Moustafa Bayoumi

What Trump has been signaling loudly and clearly is that he gladly accepts and even encourages the acquisition of territory by force

By now, most of the world will have seen the exchange that has heralded the end of the postwar liberal order. But who would have thought that the whole thing would come crashing down with Trump saying these words: “All right, I think we’ve seen enough. What do you think? This is going to be great television. I will say that.”

I’m referring, of course, to the debacle at the Oval Office between two showmen-turned-statesmen, Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The meeting began cordially. After the Ukrainian president was challenged for not wearing a suit, the US president said: “I think he’s dressed beautifully.” Trump praised a reporter from One American News for asking an obsequious question (“What gave you the moral courage and conviction to step forward and lead?”) and then, several minutes later, claimed that “I’ve stopped wars. I’ve stopped many wars. My people will tell you. I’ve stopped wars that nobody ever heard about.”

Moustafa Bayoumi is a Guardian US columnist

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