The Atlantic world first saw him as an “accident,” then as a “deviation.” Europe underestimated him, NATO endured him, and the Middle East waited. But over time, everyone realized the same truth: Trump was not an exception — he was a signal.

Resit Kemal As

Editor-in-Chief, World Of Global

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“Do not fear the visible wound; fear the invisible one.”

Because a visible wound bleeds, hurts, and can be treated.

An invisible wound, however, slowly corrodes from within.

Donald Trump was precisely such a figure for the global system. He was loud, crude, unpredictable. He tweeted, threatened, and belittled alliances. The Atlantic world first regarded him as an “accident,” then as a “deviation.” Europe underestimated him, NATO tolerated him, and the Middle East waited. But in time, everyone recognized the same reality: Trump was not an exception — he was a sign.

Trump was the visible wound of the system. The real danger was the invisible wound he revealed — one that would remain even after he was gone.

During the Trump era, the United States spoke with unprecedented bluntness. It did not hide that what it called “alliance” was, in fact, a line item on an invoice. NATO was presented not as a community of shared security, but as a subscription service. The protection of Europe was framed as something that came at a price — and it was said out loud.

For Europe, this was the real shock. Because the problem was not what Trump said, but the fact that his words could no longer be denied after him. Security, values, shared ideals — all suddenly became negotiable. Europe now knows this much: the American umbrella does not open automatically.

For the Middle East, Trump was not a surprise. On the contrary, he was a confirmation of a reality long suspected. Through the Jerusalem decision, Iran policy, and the “maximum pressure” doctrine, Trump sent the region a clear message:

For this reason, Trump was taken seriously in the Middle East as much as he was resented. Because he did not hide what he wanted. The real question is this: Will those who came after Trump maintain this blunt clarity, or retreat behind the old rhetoric?

The post-Trump world appears calmer. More diplomatic. More institutional. More “normal.” But this is an illusion. Because the cracks Trump exposed were never repaired:

•The United States remains inward-looking.

•Europe is still strategically vulnerable.

•NATO has shifted from a values-based alliance to a crisis-management mechanism.

•The global system is no longer unipolar — yet it has not truly become multipolar either.

Within this vacuum, power is quietly changing hands. China rises without shouting. Russia hardens through loss. Regional actors grow bolder, yet lonelier. Rules are still performed as if they matter — but no one truly believes in them anymore.

The real wound is not in Trump’s personality.

The real wound lies in the West no longer believing its own story.

Democracy, human rights, free trade, the rule of law — these are no longer universal principles. They are tools, used when convenient and suspended when necessary. Trump did not invent this contradiction. He simply tore the curtain down.

Trump can leave. In fact, he did.

But Trumpism — the naked, unfiltered, transactional use of power — has become a permanent feature of global politics. Leaders may speak more politely from now on, but decisions may be made more ruthlessly.

So let us repeat it once more:

Do not fear the visible wound.

Fear the invisible one.

Because that wound does not shout.

It does not tweet.

It does not make headlines.

But it slowly pulls the world toward somewhere else.

And we do not yet fully know what kind of place that will be.