David Rennie

Donald Trump’s envoys failed to reassure Europe A gathering of world leaders in Munich shows how trust has collapsed

Donald Trump is trying something risky: the half-abandonment of allies. He is willing to do much less for the defence of Europe and NATO, but still expects allies to do as America says. That’s not a stable relationship and trust is crumbling. My column from #MSC2026
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Are liberal values a luxury the West cannot afford? Yes, China has impressive high-speed trains. That is no reason for the West to adopt iron-fisted rule

Are liberal values a luxury the West cannot afford? Europeans & US allies hear that now in Washington & from Asian, MidEast govts. But here’s the trap: when democracies turn illiberal they don’t become efficient technocracies, they become Russia or Hungary. My column
economist.com/internationa...

📳 NEW EDITION 📳 Is US foreign policy really being run on Trump’s whims… or is there a coherent agenda under the chaos? Economist geopolitics editor @dsorennie.bsky.social takes @seththevoz.bsky.social on a journey into America’s new belligerence.
📳 Listen up: linktr.ee/bunker_pod

Anger is deadly to moderate politicians AI-driven disruption is about to make the world a more resentful place

As AI & robots upend the world of work expect a contest over models of humiliation management. China channels it into industrial adjustment. Centrists promise (only somewhat credibly) to keep loss & decline at bay. Populists weaponise humiliation for gain. My column economist.com/internationa...

Lots of world leaders are attacking Europe. Why? Often, Europe-bashing is best explained by domestic politics in America, China and beyond

World leaders are attacking Europe. Trump, Xi, Putin and Zelensky think Europeans weak and annoying. True, Europe (I include the UK) can be smug and slow. But the derision is overdone, and leaders are often blaming Europe for choices they made. My column, The Telegram
economist.com/internationa...

Allies will not appease Donald Trump for ever If Trump convinces partners that the post-1945 order really is dead, things will get ugly

Quite proud of this The Telegram column from 8 Feb 2025, predicting that allies will appease Trump up until the point he convinces them the 1945 world order is dead, whereupon their initial plan to buy him off/wait him out will turn into resistance and hedging

economist.com/internationa...

Trump's first year reshapes the global economy — Part 1 - The World from PRX One year on, US President Donald Trump’s second term has rattled the global economy. Terms like “weaponized tariffs” and “trade bazooka” suggest we’re clearly in new territory. The World’s Host Caroly...

We asked @dsorennie.bsky.social for one word or phrase to describe foreign policy under Trump 2.0.

He did not hesitate:

“Dominance.”

The whole conversation is a great synthesis of a disorienting year.

theworld.org/segments/202...

Western leaders navigate a lonely world China cannot and will not save mid-size American allies from Donald Trump

Boosters call China an alternative to a scary US. Hawks accuse Mark Carney and other Western leaders of aligning with the PRC. In reality China is as ruthlessly self-interested as ever and offers lonely Western middle powers only a limited hedge.My column,The Telegram

economist.com/briefing/202...

Sign of the times - I initially read this as an argument for laying defensive landmines in Greenland

Are America’s tariffs here to stay? | The Economist Insider A year into Donald Trump’s second term, global trade has been transformed. America has abandoned its role as guardian of the post-1945 order, instead wielding tariffs to punish political foes and pres...

“We’re not going back to the status quo ante, tariffs are always going to be part of the landscape.” My video interview with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer for The Economist. Topics include SCOTUS Plan B, and how the US has no illusions about changing China
www.economist.com/insider/insi...

Donald Trump is a man in a hurry America’s president used to be risk-averse. Is that changing?

Donald Trump begins 2026 in a hurry to remake the world. What happened to his risk-averse view of foreign interventions? In part he’s been lucky, avoiding U.S. casualties so far. My column, The Telegram

economist.com/internationa...
from The Economist

China’s grand plan: Taiwan, tech and the Trump effect | The Economist Insider Reporting on China is challenging. The country’s leaders seldom give interviews to Western media and when they do they tend to stick to prepared official lines. To understand China journalists rely on...

If you are a subscriber, do have a look at @dsorennie.bsky.social interviewing Da Wei of Tsinghua University.

Very interesting conversation. www.economist.com/insider/insi...

Patriotism tests loom for big business Economic nationalism makes it harder for multinationals to navigate the world

In 2026 the nationality of global companies will be more important politically but more ambiguous. Expect rows about local content rules, and the China subsidiaries of multinationals out-competing parent companies in export markets. My column, The Telegram

China’s grand plan: Taiwan, tech and the Trump effect | The Economist Insider Reporting on China is challenging. The country’s leaders seldom give interviews to Western media and when they do they tend to stick to prepared official lines. To understand China journalists rely on...

China’s foreign policy establishment is wary but confident that it’s cracked the code of handling Trump and his trade war. Taiwan is a harder challenge. A wide-ranging interview with a China insider Prof Da Wei of Tsinghua Univ, who doesn’t duck tough questions www.economist.com/insider/insi...

"Constructive advice for bleak times"

How to survive abandonment by America Allies are planning for a lonelier, harsher world: a report from South Korea

U.S. allies are scenario planning for military abandonment by Trump. Should they double-down on investments in the U.S. market, try a risky hedge with China, or deepen ties with like-minded middle powers? My column, The Telegram, reported from South Korea

economist.com/internationa...

Is China the new superpower? | The Economist Insider It has been a good year for China. The country is winning its trade war with America. China is mastering new technologies and becoming an even more fearsome competitor in global markets. But it faces problems, from youth unemployment and repeated purges at home, to growing resentment over its vast trade surplus abroad. Zanny Minton Beddoes, The Economist’s editor-in-chief, and Edward Carr, our deputy editor, sit down with David Rennie, our geopolitics editor, and senior international correspondent Alice Su to assess China’s economic and geopolitical power, probing the country’s strengths and weaknesses.

On this week’s Insider show, Ed Carr and I are joined by @dsorennie.bsky.social and @aliceysu.bsky.social to assess China’s economic and geopolitical power and probe the country’s strengths and weaknesses. I hope you will join us on Thursday at 6pm London time

What’s worse for innovation: MAGA or Mao? Donald Trump and Xi Jinping share a dangerous nostalgia

In different ways, Xi Jinping and Donald Trump are nostalgic for 1950s politics. But Xi wants to use Mao-era notions of collective sacrifice to build a 21C economy. Trump has promised MAGA supporters a return of a 1950s economy. My column, The Telegram
economist.com/internationa...

This should go on the next banner overlooking Schuman.

Trumpworld thinks Europe has betrayed the West Centrist governments across the continent rightly sense a trap

There is a battle for the soul of ‘the West’ between MAGA and European centrists.

@dsorennie.bsky.social captures the revolutionary fervour in DC and what’s at stake.

Trumpworld thinks Europe has betrayed the West
economist.com/internationa...

Trumpworld thinks Europe has betrayed the West Centrist governments across the continent rightly sense a trap

Trumpworld’s loathing of Europe has become a charge that centrist leaders are “betraying Western civilisation” and don’t deserve to be defended by US. Shocked European officials fear a schism in the West, with Putin a likely winner. My column, The Telegram

economist.com/internationa...

The wrong sort of peace leads to the next war Donald Trump’s approach to peacemaking ignores crucial lessons from history

3 pillars of Trump peace-making are bluffing, might-makes-right deference to big powers, and putting profits before principle. Alas, from Versailles to Munich and Minsk, history is full of bad peace deals guided by those strategies. My column, The Telegram
economist.com/internationa...

Is the world at “peak Trump”? John Bolton on American foreign policy | The Economist Insider There is no love lost between Donald Trump and John Bolton, his former national security adviser. Mr Bolton made a dramatic exit from the first Trump administration after months of tension. Since then he has been a fierce critic of the president’s character and competence. He has also been indicted for transmitting and storing classified information. Mr Bolton joins David Rennie, our geopolitics editor, to dissect Mr Trump’s worldview, evaluate his America-first foreign policy and consider the future of American power. Mr Bolton was America’s national security adviser from 2018 to 2019 and ambassador to the United Nations from 2005 to 2006. Before serving under Mr Trump, he held senior positions in the administrations of Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush.

Is the world at “peak Trump”? John Bolton discusses American foreign policy with @dsorennie.bsky.social.

Watch Inside Geopolitics now

China shock 2.0: why Germany is worried Our weekly podcast on China. This week, could Germany’s big bet on China turn into a costly mistake?

In the latest Drum Tower podcast, I'm joined by former co-host @dsorennie.bsky.social to ask if Germany's big bet on China is turning into a costly mistake. We also reminisce about the VW Santana and hear from Johannes Volkmann, German MP & grandson of Helmut Kohl. www.economist.com/podcasts/202...

The loneliness of America’s model ally Donald Trump has no desire to play global cop. That is tough on Denmark, a loyal sheriff’s deputy

Trump’s USA is done with being a global cop. That is tough on allies who bet big on being America’s loyal deputy sheriff. My column, The Telegram, reported from Denmark, a “super-Atlanticist” ally turned victim of bullying over Greenland.

economist.com/internationa...
from The Economist

Beijing insiders’ plan to play Donald Trump They see America’s president as a golden opportunity for China

Just spent week in Beijing talking to officials, scholars. Their msg: 2nd term Trump=opportunity for China. He’s not ideological, sees Xi as a peer, bungled his trade war and can stare down DC China hawks. But he’s unreliable, so a debate on how to use him.
economist.com/internationa...

a little boy is sitting in front of a pile of christmas presents and a stuffed animal . ALT: a little boy is sitting in front of a pile of christmas presents and a stuffed animal .

It's time to start to thinking about Christmas presents, isn't it?

I have an idea, that costs just £22 a month. 📰

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China places a Hong Kong-sized bet on Western decline The territory aims to prove that a non-free society can be a global financial hub

Hong Kong’s plan to prove that a dynamic financial hub and “world city” does not have to hew to Western liberal values. My column, The Telegram, reported from HK

economist.com/internationa...
from The Economist

Donald Trump’s trade power is vast, but self-defeating The view from Canada, as Trumpian threats fly

Like it or not, Donald Trump is being rewarded for trade bullying-foreign firms are increasing investments in the U.S. and Canada’s PM just apologised for an anti-tariff TV ad. But long-term, America is weakening its hold on industries of future. My column, The Telegram
economist.com/internationa...

Strong interview by @dsorennie.bsky.social on Europe's survival in a world of strongmen. Frank on China ("key enabler in Ukraine") and likewise (!) on EU member states (without unity EU's growing toolkit has little worth). The partnership-strategy invites more probing-e.g. what's in it for others?