--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The US is no longer sure whether its…" description: "\"“The US is no longer sure whether its priorities lie across the Atlantic, on the other side of the Pacific or, following the election of Donald Trump a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e72/stephen-d-king-59466_european-union_the-us-is-no-longer-sure-whether-its-pri_2587785.jpg" --- # The US is no longer sure whether its priorities lie across… ![“The US is no longer sure whether its priorities lie across the Atlantic, on the other side of the Pacific or, following the election of Donald Trump as president in 2016, at home rather than abroad. Indeed, President Trump confirmed as much in his January 2017 inauguration speech, stating that…” quote by Stephen D. King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e72/stephen-d-king-59466_european-union_the-us-is-no-longer-sure-whether-its-pri_2587785.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e72/stephen-d-king-59466_european-union_the-us-is-no-longer-sure-whether-its-pri_2587785.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e72/stephen-d-king-59466_european-union_the-us-is-no-longer-sure-whether-its-pri_2587785.jpg) > ““The US is no longer sure whether its priorities lie across the Atlantic, on the other side of the Pacific or, following the election of Donald Trump as president in 2016, at home rather than abroad. Indeed, President Trump confirmed as much in his January 2017 inauguration speech, stating that ‘From this day forward, it’s going to be only America first.’ Free markets have been found wanting, particularly following the global financial crisis. Support and respect for the international organizations that provided the foundations and set the ‘rules’ for post-war globalization – most obviously, the International Monetary Fund, the European Union and the United Nations Security Council (whose permanent members anachronistically include the UK and France, but not Germany, Japan, India or Indonesia) – are rapidly fading. Political narratives are becoming increasingly protectionist. It is easier, it seems, for politicians of both left and right to blame ‘the other’ – the immigrant, the foreigner, the stranger in their midst – for a nation’s problems. Voters, meanwhile, no longer fit into neat political boxes. Neglected by the mainstream left and right, many have opted instead to vote for populist and nativist politicians typically opposed to globalization. Isolationism is, once again, becoming a credible political alternative. Without it, there would have been no Brexit and no Trump.”” [Stephen D. King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-d-king/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Nationalist rhetoric and protectionism rise as global institutions weaken, leading to isolationism. **In simple terms:** Growing nationalism and weak global bodies push countries toward isolation. Key Takeaway Consider the costs of isolationism. Themes politics globalization populism economics nationalism Mood analytical critical Type political economic When to use this quote - policy analysis - public debates - educational curricula - media literacy Key Concepts geopolitics economic policy social cohesion Questions to Reflect On - What alternatives to isolationism exist? - How can citizens influence global cooperation? A Different Perspective Isolationism can also protect vulnerable domestic industries. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [European union](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/european-union/) [Financial crisis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/financial-crisis/) [Globalization Isolationism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/globalization-isolationism-1833560/) [Globalization Obviously](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/globalization-obviously-1833561/) [Increasingly Protectionist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/increasingly-protectionist-1833564/) [Isolationism Credible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/isolationism-credible-1833563/) [Left and right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left-and-right/) [Opposed Globalization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposed-globalization-1833562/) [President trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/president-trump/) ## Related quotes > [Globalization obviously has the potential to be good. That doesn't mean it's good for everybody. There's a very large number of people in India…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-deaton/globalization-obviously-has-the-potential-to-be-good-that-doesn-t/) [Angus Deaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-deaton/) > [We're going to move left and right at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-brown/we-re-going-to-move-left-and-right-at-the-same-time/) [Jerry Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-brown/) > [“Pick up a pinecone and count the spiral rows of scales. You may find eight spirals winding up to the left and 13 spirals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-kauffman/pick-up-a-pinecone-and-count-the-spiral-rows-of-scales-you-may-find/) [Stuart Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-kauffman/) > [Without encryption, you and I wouldn't be able to do our banking online. We wouldn't be able to buy things online, because your credit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/without-encryption-you-and-i-wouldn-t-be-able-to-do-our-banking/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [I have never done anything to my brows, though sometimes I tweeze the intersection of the left and right brow, which is either a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leandra-medine/i-have-never-done-anything-to-my-brows-though-sometimes-i-tweeze-the/) [Leandra Medine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leandra-medine/) > [The pulp hero, though he may be a renegade, is a guy who doesn't feel. Anything. Ever. And for the adolescent male - pummeled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/the-pulp-hero-though-he-may-be-a-renegade-is-a-guy-who-doesn-t-feel/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [Politics is based on social identity, and so, again, there is going to be differences between rural and urban and between left and right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/politics-is-based-on-social-identity-and-so-again-there-is-going-to/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [“First came bright Spirits, not the Spirits of men, who danced and scattered flowers. Then, on the left and right, at each side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/first-came-bright-spirits-not-the-spirits-of-men-who-danced-and/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [We losing people left and right Cherish Life and the people in your Life...don't hold Grudges because u might not be able to tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-rivera/we-losing-people-left-and-right-cherish-life-and-the-people-in-your/) [Maria Rivera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-rivera/) > [The human brain has left and right brain symmetry with its own nature and can process information which initially appears to have no pattern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-buzan/the-human-brain-has-left-and-right-brain-symmetry-with-its-own-nature/) [Tony Buzan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-buzan/) > [I don't like a girl on social media, when you have an open inbox, answering questions from dudes left and right, every day. What's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meek-mill/i-don-t-like-a-girl-on-social-media-when-you-have-an-open-inbox/) [Meek Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meek-mill/) > [In exams, we look up for inspiration, down for desperation, left and right for information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/in-exams-we-look-up-for-inspiration-down-for-desperation-left-and/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [“There are so many priests who enter triumphantly and walk up toward the altar, greeting people left and right, so as to appear sympathetic.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-sarah/there-are-so-many-priests-who-enter-triumphantly-and-walk-up-toward/) [Robert Sarah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-sarah/) > [When I see birches bend to left and right... I like to think some boy's been swinging them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/when-i-see-birches-bend-to-left-and-right-i-like-to-think-some-boy-s/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [“I assume 'elegant gentlemen,' such as you, learn such useful skills very early in life." "Actually, no." Straight-faced, Vane reached for her pins. "Us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-laurens/i-assume-elegant-gentlemen-such-as-you-learn-such-useful-skills-very/) [Stephanie Laurens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-laurens/) ## More by Stephen D. King > [“Yet the interests of the international statesman may not always align with the ‘national interest’, particularly if the statesman is now also a member…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-d-king/yet-the-interests-of-the-international-statesman-may-not-always-align/) [Stephen D. King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-d-king/) > [“The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-d-king/the-best-argument-against-democracy-is-a-five-minute-conversation/) [Stephen D. King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-d-king/) > [“In combination, these political and economic forces suggest that globalization, at least of the post-Columbus kind, is simply not inevitable. In this book –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-d-king/in-combination-these-political-and-economic-forces-suggest-that/) [Stephen D. King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-d-king/) > [“Differing historical perspectives inevitably shape attitudes towards globalization and its sub-plots. The Western view of globalization has always been just that: a view based…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-d-king/differing-historical-perspectives-inevitably-shape-attitudes-towards/) [Stephen D. King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-d-king/) [Explore all 5 Stephen D. King quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-d-king/) ## More European union quotes > [There is no precedent of an advanced economy withdrawing from a trade agreement as deep and as complex as the European Union.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-johnson/there-is-no-precedent-of-an-advanced-economy-withdrawing-from-a-trade/) [Jo Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-johnson/) > [We have to be serious and consistent if we believe the European Union makes sense. I believe it makes sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federica-mogherini/we-have-to-be-serious-and-consistent-if-we-believe-the-european-union/) [Federica Mogherini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federica-mogherini/) > [Public confidence in, and support for, the euro - and, indeed, the European Union - will ultimately be determined by how well we deliver…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enda-kenny/public-confidence-in-and-support-for-the-euro-and-indeed-the-european/) [Enda Kenny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enda-kenny/) > [“Putin has positioned himself as the leader of an authoritarian, xenophobic international movement that wants to expel immigrants, break up the European Union, weaken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-rodham-clinton/putin-has-positioned-himself-as-the-leader-of-an-authoritarian/) [Hillary Rodham Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-rodham-clinton/) > [Germany will continue to play a central - perhaps even a more important - role in the European Union. I think that we will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-claude-juncker/germany-will-continue-to-play-a-central-perhaps-even-a-more-important/) [Jean-Claude Juncker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-claude-juncker/) > [People want their own laws to take precedence over those of the European Union. The French have understood that the EU does not live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marine-le-pen/people-want-their-own-laws-to-take-precedence-over-those-of-the/) [Marine Le Pen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marine-le-pen/) > [Countries will cooperate with each other, and are more likely to cooperate with each other when they share a common culture, as is most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/countries-will-cooperate-with-each-other-and-are-more-likely-to/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) > [When we said that no more areas of power should go to the EU we were right. And now thanks to the European Union…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hague/when-we-said-that-no-more-areas-of-power-should-go-to-the-eu-we-were/) [William Hague](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hague/) > [“Europe, it is true, is a geographical and, within certain limits, an historical cultural conception. But the idea of Europe as an economic unit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosa-luxemburg/europe-it-is-true-is-a-geographical-and-within-certain-limits-an/) [Rosa Luxemburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosa-luxemburg/) > [Many businesses in Yorkshire want the security and stability of Britain's continued membership of the European Union, a cause I look forward to championing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-cox/many-businesses-in-yorkshire-want-the-security-and-stability-of/) [Jo Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-cox/) > [No matter who becomes chancellor, Poland and Germany will remain neighbours, strategic partners, not only within the European Union, but also world partners, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marek-belka/no-matter-who-becomes-chancellor-poland-and-germany-will-remain/) [Marek Belka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marek-belka/) > [I'd like to see the argument made for greater worldwide federalism, not just the European Union.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-miller/i-d-like-to-see-the-argument-made-for-greater-worldwide-federalism/) [Ben Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-miller/) > [Brexit has really broken a taboo. The Brits have shown us that you can leave the European Union, and you can come out better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marine-le-pen/brexit-has-really-broken-a-taboo-the-brits-have-shown-us-that-you-can/) [Marine Le Pen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marine-le-pen/) > [I'm proud to have led the brokering of the ambitious 2030 climate package in the European Union to cut greenhouse gases by at least…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-davey/i-m-proud-to-have-led-the-brokering-of-the-ambitious-2030-climate/) [Ed Davey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-davey/) > [I think another crisis, which is being predicted now and which will be worse than what we saw in 2008, could bring the European…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ali/i-think-another-crisis-which-is-being-predicted-now-and-which-will-be/) [Tariq Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ali/) [Browse all 460 European union quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/european-union/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The US is no longer sure whether its priorities lie across the Atlantic, on the other side of the Pacific or, following the election of Donald Trump as president in 2016, at home rather than abroad. Indeed, President Trump confirmed as much in his January 2017 inauguration speech, stating that ‘From this day forward, it’s going to be only America first.’ Free markets have been found wanting, particularly following the global financial crisis. Support and respect for the international organizations that provided the foundations and set the ‘rules’ for post-war globalization – most obviously, the International Monetary Fund, the European Union and the United Nations Security Council (whose permanent members anachronistically include the UK and France, but not Germany, Japan, India or Indonesia) – are rapidly fading. Political narratives are becoming increasingly protectionist. It is easier, it seems, for politicians of both left and right to blame ‘the other’ – the immigrant, the foreigner, the stranger in their midst – for a nation’s problems. Voters, meanwhile, no longer fit into neat political boxes. Neglected by the mainstream left and right, many have opted instead to vote for populist and nativist politicians typically opposed to globalization. Isolationism is, once again, becoming a credible political alternative. Without it, there would have been no Brexit and no Trump.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen D. King" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-d-king/the-us-is-no-longer-sure-whether-its-priorities-lie-across-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "European union" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-d-king/the-us-is-no-longer-sure-whether-its-priorities-lie-across-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e72/stephen-d-king-59466_european-union_the-us-is-no-longer-sure-whether-its-pri_2587785.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e72/stephen-d-king-59466_european-union_the-us-is-no-longer-sure-whether-its-pri_2587785.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e72/stephen-d-king-59466_european-union_the-us-is-no-longer-sure-whether-its-pri_2587785.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The US is no longer sure whether its priorities lie across the Atlantic, on the other side of the Pacific…” — Stephen D. King", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Stephen D. King", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-d-king/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The US is no longer sure...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-d-king/the-us-is-no-longer-sure-whether-its-priorities-lie-across-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-d-king/the-us-is-no-longer-sure-whether-its-priorities-lie-across-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```