Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says repairing the damage to the U.S.’s relationships with its allies will take much longer than one election cycle.
“Honestly, I think that this work is going to be generational,” she noted in a video posted on her Instagram story. “It took a lot more than just one Trump election for this to be frayed. And it’s going to take more than one presidential election for this to be repaired.”
Speaking casually in the Instagram story video, she argued that despite Biden’s victory in the 2020 election, the damage was bigger than the message it sent abroad.
“When we elected Donald Trump the first time, our international allies and relationships were almost willing to think that it was an aberration or a one-time thing or that people didn’t know what he was going to do,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “But when Biden was elected, and then after Biden’s presidency, the fact that Trump was elected again, it sent a broad signal to the world that this was something we affirmatively chose. And that’s going to take time to repair.”
Ocasio-Cortez believes that the issue cannot be resolved by changing the treaties the U.S. signs or breaking them.
“So honestly, this is not just limited to the treaties, climate agreements, trade agreements, what have you, that are engaged in over time. But it’s about our adherence to them,” she said. “And I think that is ultimately a question of our electorate.”
The Democrats blame the electorate and leaders they choose.
“There were many agreements that once the United States entered them, they would be honored across administrations and parties,” she said. “But we started electing people who, at a deeper level, were careless; Trump is careless about America, keeping his word. And that is a big part of what has torn up a lot of our international relationships. So it’s about the electorate, the electorate.”
These statements come ahead of the Republicans’ loss in Tuesday’s midterms. Democrats will take the majority in Congress after taking the House majority and flipping seven Senate seats in Kansas, Iowa, Texas, Ohio, Maine, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Political analysts linked the results to frustration with the U.S. war with Iran, rising gas prices, and the cost of living.
Ocasio-Cortez won reelection Tuesday in New York’s 14th Congressional District, which includes parts of the Bronx and Queens. With a new majority in Congress, Democrats are expected to challenge the White House on NATO, the Russian sanctions the administration recently paused, and plans for Greenland.
President Trump signed an executive order on the first day of his second term in January 2025 to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate agreement again. The decision took effect on Jan. 27, 2026. Biden rejoined the deal after Trump’s initial withdrawal. Still, the administration has decided to withdraw from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which is a 1992 treaty behind global climate talks.
The global polls support what Ocasio-Cortez says. According to a Pew Research Center survey of more than 40,000 adults in 36 countries, conducted between Feb. 8 and May 13, 23% of respondents trusted Trump to lead on world affairs. Over 50% of them believe the United States is an unreliable partner.
The drop was especially big among the U.S. allies. In Canada, the share of those who see the U.S. as a reliable partner fell from 83% in 2022 to 35%. In Sweden, the Netherlands, and Germany, the ratings dropped by more than 40%.
The White House, however, disagrees. White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales told Axios in June that Trump restored U.S. power after the weak Biden presidency and that, thanks to his “Peace Through Strength” foreign policy, the country stays safe. Trump also promised to withdraw the United States from NATO, which requires Congress’s consent.
Foreign policy became Ocasio-Cortez’s priority. She visited the Munich Security Conference in Germany in February to introduce a progressive vision of U.S. foreign policy. The event got backlash because of her inability to answer the question about sending troops to defend Taiwan, and Trump said on Air Force One that it “was not a good look for the United States.”
The 37-year-old congresswoman is considered a potential presidential or senatorial candidate in New York in 2028. In Tuesday’s memorandum to interested parties and allies, her team mentions her midterm campaign activity, which includes fundraising for other Democrats totaling over $3 million. She has not yet revealed any intentions to run in 2028.
