Although there are many explanations for Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 U.S. presidential election, voters’ views of the U.S. economy may have been decisive.

The 21st century may have worse moments. But for Europeans it is hard to imagine a darker day than 12/02/2025. It looks like the midnight of our century – its nadir.

At the start of this week, Marco Rubio was proud to announce that his first foreign tour as secretary of state had already yielded positive results: The president of Panama said that his country would not renew its participation in China’s infrastructure loan program, known as the Belt and Road Initiative, and could even end its dependence on the Chinese program early.