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Ian Explains

Name: How the US went from global cop to king of the jungle
Uploaded: 2026-02-13T19:39:01Z
Description: Ian Bremmer breaks down how Trump’s second term is reshaping American power — and what it means for the global order.

On Ian Explains, host Ian Bremmer makes complex issues about global politics understandable. Ian Explains is a weekly segment on GZERO WORLD with Ian Bremmer, GZERO's weekly program about global news and current affairs.

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How the US went from global cop to king of the jungle

In the latest “Ian Explains,” Ian Bremmer examines the shift from decades of US-led global leadership to President Trump’s more unilateral “America First” approach. From withdrawing from international agreements to reviving tariffs and allowing key arms control treaties to lapse, the signals suggest Washington is pulling back. But is it?

From forceful action in Venezuela to an explicit doctrine of dominance in the Western Hemisphere, Trump has shown he’s willing to assert American power — just not through the institutions that defined the postwar order. As allies hedge and adversaries like China step into new leadership roles, Bremmer asks whether the United States is retreating from the world, or redefining how it leads it.

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How the US went from global cop to king of the jungle

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