That comments section is such a shitfest I might as well address some points…

People often prioritize “reputation” over other things, as if it is politically actionable or tangible. […]

Another word for “reputation” in this context is “soft power”. Basically, other states are not willing to play along USA, unless forced to. It’s exactly as “actionable” and “tangible” as the ability to force others to do your bidding (hard power).

As such the news should be read as “USA’s soft power is nowadays used toilet paper”.

The problem is that even if the US elects some nice centrist democrats for the 14 years every country is going to be thinking “What if they elect Trump v2?”

The so-called “centrist” democrats are not a relief from the problem. They are part of the problem. As I mentioned in another thread, Trump is not the cause of USA’s decadence, that idiot is at most a symptom. And perhaps a catalyser, since he’s a bit too stupid to hide what preceding presidents were already doing (such as trying to topple governments because they were defending the local interests instead of the cockroaches’. Cue to Allende).

So even if the population of USA elects those so-called “centrists”, any action they take will be seen as a continuation of the Trump regime. It’s over.

Regarding the democrats, I’m not so sure. I mean, yeah, they absolutely are part of the problem, but real politik-wise, I think the rest of the world wants to get back to “business as usual” as fast as possible. The “long term” reputation will still be stained, sure, but democrats will be treated like sensible people if they manage to get the US back to the negotiating table, for however long that may last.