Analyst says Trump's global standing is fading as allies distance themselves
Key Takeaways
- •James Ball said Trump’s influence among world leaders has declined sharply, including among some close allies.
- •Flávio Bolsonaro was nominated for president, but Jair Bolsonaro’s address did not mention Trump.
- •Bolsonaro’s remarks included video messages from Benjamin Netanyahu and Javier Milei.
- •Ball suggested the omission of Trump may have been deliberate and reflected shifting political calculations.
- •Ball also said Trump’s tariff policies may have contributed to strained relations with allies.

President Donald Trump's relationships with multiple world leaders have soured, and even some longtime allies have snubbed him, according to an analyst.
James Ball, political editor at The New World, wrote in an analysis for The i Paper on Monday that Trump's standing among global powers has declined significantly. He pointed to Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of Brazil's former president Jair Bolsonaro, who was nominated for president in what Ball said "should have been a proud moment for Trump."
"For years, the Bolsonaros have courted the Trump family – and yet, just as you’d have thought they would want the political support of the U.S. President in their corner, they seem to have dropped him entirely," Ball wrote.
"There is, of course, one obvious solution to the mystery: Trump is simply so politically toxic across the world these days that even his closest international allies are having to distance themselves from him," Ball explained.
In his address, Bolsonaro shared a video message from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Argentinian President Javier Milei. Trump, however, was absent from the remarks.
"Bolsonaro made no mention whatsoever of Trump – a snub the famously thin-skinned US President will surely be furious about," Ball wrote.
Ball said the omission was unusual and may have been deliberate, especially given that the Bolsonaro family has been involved in Trump's administration and has appeared at public events. The contrast also highlights how public political ties can shift as leaders weigh their own domestic calculations, even when those relationships have previously been close.
Trump's tariffs could also have played a role.
"Trump’s White House has spent most of the last 18 months alienating America’s oldest and closest allies, in a bid to court a new international coalition of its own making. Now it’s finding even they don’t want to pick up the phone. Trump’s remaining days in the Oval Office could become very lonely indeed," Ball added.