Billionaire Elon Musk is not the only friendly piece falling out of US President Donald Trump’s chessboard. He has lost way more friends abroad. Europeans — even many in the Right — dislike him. The Japanese, one of the US’s closest allies, have recently railed against “American extortionists” after Trump unleashed a tariff war. Israel is seething quietly after Trump started talking about being close to a ‘deal’ with Iran. Canada deeply resents being called a colony of the US. Indians had widely cheered Trump’s second coming. They even endured the absurd tariffs in the spirit that the US President is entitled to out his nation’s interests first. But there is now a great sense of betrayal after Trump’s narcissistic trumpeting for mediation during the latest India-Pakistan skirmish and then reserving high praise for Pakistan. The Trump family’s crypto-currency investments in Pakistan have apparently worked wonders. World Liberty Financial (WLF), founded in 2024, is 60 per cent owned by Donald Trump’s sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr, along with his son-in-law Jared Kushner. WLF founder Zachary Witkoff is the son of real estate tycoon and longtime Trump friend Steve Witkoff and now serves as a US special envoy. The Pakistan agreement reportedly marks WLF’s most important international venture to date. Pakistan’s investment deal with Donald Trump’s family-linked crypto firm is paying rich dividends. Trump effectively bailed out Pakistan during its recent military standoff with India, claiming that he used economic-sanctions threat to compel India to halt its military… — Brahma Chellaney (@Chellaney) June 5, 2025 Pakistan’s broken economy is being gifted to Trump’s crypto projects, with tacit push from the Pakistan Army. The crypto deal could well be the cover for political favours and Pakistan’s flourishing terror factory. The Pakistan episode also reveals two faces of Donald Trump. While he rode to power lashing out against Islamist terror and the US Deep State’s policy of nurturing it for strategic use (or misuse) across the world, he has chosen the continuation of the same. Trump, for instance, had openly criticised Bangladesh’s caretaker Muhammad Yunus government for throwing minorities to jihadi wolves. After he got elected as President, he exhorted PM Narendra Modi to have his say in the neighbourhood. But lately the US State Department has been pushing for the Chittagong corridor in Bangladesh against India’s wishes. Advance US Air Force and CIA teams have been regularly visiting Dhaka for that purpose. Also, the US government has shown no urgency in removing Yunus and restoring electoral democracy. Nor did it criticise the banning of Awami League’s activities. The Trump administration has shown the same double face in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. It is hard to tell whether it is dumping Ukraine or doubling down against Russia. As Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth has been the first to reject a 2022 Ramstein Air Base-format summit of Volodymyr Zelensky’s supporters. But US weapons are still rolling into Ukraine. ?????U.S. DUMPING Ukraine or DOUBLING DOWN? Pete Hegseth is the first Pentagon chief to bail on a Ramstein-format summit of Volodymyr Zelensky’s backers – yet US weapons are still rolling into Ukraine. What’s the real story here? 🧵 pic.twitter.com/Uuvc1QlYye — Sputnik (@SputnikInt) June 4, 2025 Ukraine is unleashing a fire-stream from the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), a light, wheeled multiple rocket launcher developed by the US Army. The rockets rain on Russian energy sites, Crimea, and the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, allegedly leaving a long civilian blood trail. US military aid for Ukraine includes everything from Altius-600 UAVs to Phoenix Ghost loitering munitions. Donald Trump’s March 2025 freeze stopped new military aid. But a USD 310 million F-16 aircraft agreement was signed in May covering spare parts, software updates, and pilot training for Ukraine. America also approved Germany’s handover of 125 long-range rockets and 100 Patriot missiles to Ukraine, according to reports. This keeps the war on — something Trump ostensibly was keen to end — in spite of Russia pounding Ukraine’s shrinking stockpile and knocking out Patriot systems. And the US continues to share intelligence with Ukraine in the guise of “defensive operations”. Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite Internet service still operates in Ukraine. Incidentally, Musk has also signed a Starlink deal with the troubled and mismanaged Bangladesh. Under the new 5 per cent GDP target, military aid to Ukraine will count as “defense spending”, Euractiv reports. In effect, NATO’s budget just got a shot in the arm. A majority of Ukraine’s long-range missiles, artillery, and ballistic air-defence systems are still manufactured in the US. Even with steadfast ally Israel, Trump is trying to talk up an ‘Iran deal’ without Bibi’s consent. He went to press forbidding Tel Aviv from scuttling his peace overture to Iran. Tehran has swiftly rejected the deal and is writing its own proposal. In short, Trump is fast losing trust globally and at home because of his highly transactional approach, over-reliance on the power of whim and unpredictability, and willingness to sacrifice even the core ideological commitments to the slightest prospect of a business ‘deal’. At some point, the politician in him has to rein in the businessman. Else, many Trump towers will be built worldwide, but America’s credibility will crumble. Abhijit Majumder is a senior journalist. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.