In an interview with Spanish newspaper elDiario.es, Jayapal said Trump had severely damaged the United States’ reputation as a power capable of building multilateral coalitions and commanding the respect and trust of governments around the world.
“I think Trump has caused enormous damage to our reputation as a power capable of forming multilateral coalitions and one that has the respect and trust of different governments around the world,” Jayapal said.
She said many U.S. counterparts in other countries were now questioning whether Washington could be trusted to honor its commitments, warning that a loss of confidence in the United States could push countries to deepen relations with other powers, including China.
“Many of our counterparts in other countries say they cannot trust the United States,” Jayapal said, pointing to concerns that Washington could commit to an agreement only for a subsequent administration or president to reverse course.
The Democratic lawmaker also linked the erosion of U.S. credibility directly to the war with Iran, arguing that Washington entered the conflict without a clear strategy, congressional authorization or an exit plan.
“The president intervened in Iran without any strategy, without authorization and, certainly, without an exit plan,” she said, adding that the war had given Iran greater leverage over the Strait of Hormuz and increased its potential economic influence.
Jayapal said the only viable way forward was diplomacy and argued that the United States should have remained within the 2015 nuclear agreement negotiated under former President Barack Obama.
She said Trump’s decision to withdraw from the agreement had contributed to the current crisis and described the ensuing war as “senseless.”
Jayapal also warned that restoring international confidence in the United States would be difficult even if a Democratic administration returned to power.
“The trust deficit is large,” she said, noting that governments could continue to question whether U.S. investments, agreements and other commitments would remain in place over time.
Her remarks come as the war with Iran has become a major point of contention in Washington. Jayapal has been among the Democratic lawmakers calling for greater congressional constraints on Trump’s military action against Iran. In July, the House passed a measure aimed at restraining the president’s authority to continue the war, although a similar effort later failed in the Senate.
Hossein Amiri - ahmad shirzadian
