Ahoy,

I wanted to share something my friend wrote this week. It’s about how he feels as an American abroad. As someone who is highly skeptical of hyperbole, it was interesting to hear his thoughts on the direction or country is headed and what the Trump presidency ultimately means for us as a country. That said, I’m heartened by the fact that Trump will last four years and then disappear. I only hope his damage isn’t too deep and long-lasting.

Here is what my friend wrote:

Recently, my girlfriend and I drove from Venice to Rome to meet my best friend and his family who live a few blocks from my house in New York. We both observed on our trip that there has been a tectonic shift in how we Americans are regarded abroad.

Having lived outside the US since finishing my MBA in the 1990s, my expat life has spanned five presidents. While I choose to not discuss my political views except with my very closest friends, expatriates (especially Americans) nevertheless are engaged in current event conversations by people wherever we go.

Starting 2025, I have, for the first time, been consistently met with what I can only describe as incredulity. Few can understand why we would RE-elect the person we did. The actions our country's leadership has taken against our longstanding allies, the befriending of multigerational dictatorships and the unilateral business threats that have impeded international commerce with all of our trading partners baffles virtually everyone I come in contact with abroad. When I say, everyone, I mean business people who read the Economist and WSJ as well as farm workers and truck drivers who might passively hear some news on the radio, or not at all.

But the observation that strikes me, the reason I'm sharing this with you, is that while everyone is perplexed why Americans chose to re-elect this person, it is the Eastern Europeans and South Americans who recognize (recollect) exactly what is going on. The consolidation of decision making power in a single branch, the vilification of the "the media", the unprecedented images of US military and unidentified masked "enforcers" co-existing on American streets so familiar to everyone from Hollywood movies. They have seen this before. Hungarians and Russians see it every day.

The conclusions that everyone seems to be making as I travel abroad and live here in Croatia is that, for lack of a nicer way to put it, the United States is no longer regarded as an aspirational country. While we may still be a hegemon thanks to our military, currency and economy, we have lost the goodwill of much of the world. And, I'm afraid, their respect.

It breaks my heart to experience this. I have always felt that, no matter why I am abroad, my role as a person was to leave a good impression on those with whom i interact. A big part of that identity is my nationality as an American. Mom used to say, "you never know if you are the first American that someone has ever met, so be a good ambassador".

It's becoming harder to do that.

I know these last several years prevented you and Francie from traveling abroad, even visiting your beloved Italy. But I'm curious, when you guys were living abroad, did you ever experience something on this scale? As I realize how very long this email has become, I don't expect you to respond in kind. I am honestly interested if you had similar reactions from people abroad or if my interpretation is indeed right and global opinion of the US's integrity is eroding.

All I can do is to continue reinforcing my own American values (however "old school" they may be) within my team, among my friends and those with whom I come into contact. Ever the ambassador.

I’ll be in Berlin and then San Francisco next week if you want to meet up. Otherwise, here are the books:

The Fort Bragg Cartel

Seth Harp

Is is one of those books that makes a big splash and kind of fizzles out primarily because the subject matter is so specific. Harp does a great job of telling the story of special forces types who spent their time in the military selling and dealing amazing amounts of drugs while training their dogs to eat the brains of suspected terrorists. It sheds a great deal of light on a much lionized part of our country and shows the darkness that the men and women tasked with keeping us safe deal with every day.

Neuromancer

William Gibson

This is the definitive sci-fi book for me and I reread it every few years. This time I loved it even more because I knew what to expect and so reveled in the language. Gibson’s recent books haven’t been the best but this one is still glorious — messy and angry and complex in a package that reads like Tom Clancy on speed.

Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling

Ross King

I found this book in the little library outside my house and brought it in like a stray kitten. The read was pleasant, and now I’m ready to let it back out into the wild so someone else can take in the story of Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel. The book itself is a bit silly, with Ross stretching to make each chapter matter, but the portrait of a surly Michelangelo covering the most beautiful ceiling on earth with the attitude of a housepainter is oddly stirring. The kicker? Michelangelo never wanted to paint the chapel and instead wanted to build a huge, garish tomb for Pope Julius II. The painting was an impediment to his art.