No Kings protest in New York City. Wikimedia Commons.
Liberal think tanks and the mainstream media, which have a strong left-leaning bias and an intense hatred of President Donald Trump, have convinced many Americans that the United States is slipping economically, militarily, and diplomatically. However, the fact is that America remains the strongest nation on earth, and the strongest nation that has ever existed, across those three dimensions.
The media have people believing Trump is to blame for an American loss of status that has not occurred. This narrative is being used to fuel divisiveness. The numbers, however, do not support claims of America’s imminent demise at the hands of the president.
The U.S. remains the world’s largest economy by nominal GDP. As of 2025 and 2026 IMF projections, U.S. nominal GDP is approximately $30.5 trillion, compared to China’s $19.2 trillion. The U.S. economy is roughly 1.5 times larger than China’s in dollar terms.
To propagate the myth that China is poised to displace the United States as the world’s number-one economy, liberal media rely on purchasing power parity measures. PPP compares how much a quantity of money buys in one country versus another. When adjusted for PPP, China’s economy surpassed the United States around 2014. In 2025, China’s PPP GDP is roughly $41 trillion.
The issue with PPP, however, is that China’s GDP is not $41 trillion. It is $19.2 trillion, and on world markets, China can only buy $19.2 trillion worth of goods and services, whereas the United States can buy $30.5 trillion. The PPP measure is useful in understanding how roughly half of China’s population survives on about $10 per day, but it does not make that income equivalent to the U.S. median income of $55,000 per year.
Liberals and the media try to convince Americans that President Trump has mismanaged the economy so severely that the dollar is losing its status as the global currency. But the reality is the opposite. The dollar remains the only viable global currency.
In 2026, foreign currency reserves show a nominal figure of 58 percent, according to the IMF, while an alternative measure that includes agencies places the share at approximately 67 percent. In trade settlement, 58 percent is invoiced in U.S. dollars, while about 88 percent of trade is settled in dollars. In foreign exchange turnover, the dollar comprises 89 percent of all currency exchanges. In commodities, the nominal share is 95 percent, while oil and gas pricing accounts for approximately 98 percent in U.S. dollars.
The United States maintains the most powerful and technologically advanced military in history. According to SIPRI 2025 data, the U.S. spent approximately $997 billion on defense, nearly 40 percent of total global military spending and more than the next 10 countries combined.
The U.S. is the only nation capable of sustained blue-water power projection, operating 11 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. China has three, only one of which is comparable to U.S. technology. By tonnage, the U.S. Navy ranks first in the world. Although China has more ships, roughly 370 to America’s 290, the U.S. fleet is nearly three times larger by displacement. A single U.S. supercarrier outweighs the entire navies of many countries. The U.S. Coast Guard, with about 240 cutters, ranks among the largest fleets of armed vessels globally, exceeded by only a few nations.
The United States also fields three of the world’s largest air forces. The U.S. Air Force operates more than 5,200 aircraft, with over 13,000 total aircraft across the U.S. inventory. The U.S. Army, with more than 4,300 helicopters, ranks among the largest air arms by total airframes. The U.S. Navy operates roughly 2,400 aircraft, primarily carrier-based fighters and support aircraft, surpassing most national air forces.
The U.S. leads NATO and participates in multiple alliances that expand its reach. Five Eyes unites the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand in intelligence sharing. AUKUS integrates the defense industrial bases of the U.S., UK, and Australia, including cooperation in submarines, artificial intelligence, and hypersonics. The Quad, consisting of the U.S., Japan, Australia, and India, coordinates maritime security in the Indo-Pacific. NORAD, a binational command with Canada, treats North American airspace as a single defense zone. The United States also maintains mutual defense treaties with Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, and Australia, along with major non-NATO ally agreements with 19 countries.
Reports that the U.S. is losing diplomatic power are an example of this type of disinformation.
The Asia Power Index 2025, published by the Lowy Institute, ranks the United States as the number-one power in Asia, citing its enduring resources and influence. The report notes a slight drop in the U.S. score in 2025 due to a transactional foreign policy approach that created friction with some allies. Even so, the institute does not rank the U.S. second, nor does it name Europe or China as the new leading diplomatic power. It records a decline in score, not a loss of primacy.
The Global Soft Power Index 2026, published by Brand Finance, also ranks the United States number one in the world for soft power, citing familiarity and influence in media, science, and education. The report records a one-year decline in reputation and governance scores among top nations, but it does not rank Europe or China ahead of the U.S. It shows reduced prestige metrics while maintaining overall leadership.
Beyond think-tank rankings, analytics from 2025 and early 2026 measuring global attention share, policy gravity, and economic centrality indicate continued U.S. dominance. Media analytics show that global traffic spikes are tied to U.S. executive actions. The U.S. president generates sustained international coverage unmatched by other leaders. Reports from media organizations across dozens of countries in early 2026 identified U.S. political developments as primary drivers of global web traffic and subscriptions.
Foreign-policy analytics also document anticipatory compliance, in which governments adjust domestic policies in response to expected U.S. actions. In 2025, NATO members and Asian allies such as Japan and South Korea increased defense spending in alignment with U.S. election cycles and executive decisions. Statements by European and Latin American leaders in early 2026 show legislative and diplomatic agendas framed in response to U.S. positions.
Economic centrality further reflects this influence. Trade databases and market analytics in 2026 show that U.S. tariff policy statements affect shipping, insurance, and price forecasts within minutes. As of February 2026, U.S. energy production provides direct or indirect leverage over roughly 20 percent of global oil output, extending influence from North America to parts of Latin America. These data points measure market response rather than perception.
The disconnect between the reality and the online perception of Americas global standing suggest fifth-generation warfare, a form of psychological warfare centered on demoralization and internal division rather than direct battlefield engagement. Instead of tanks and missiles, the focus shifts to weakening social cohesion.
This strategy seeks to divide citizens along generational, racial, and gender lines. It promotes distrust between parents and children, men and women, and among racial and social groups. The objective is internal fragmentation rather than external defeat.
Russia and China have both been known to push narratives and promote negative stories about the United States, seeking to demoralize or divide the population. George Soros and other global donors have funded protests in which slogans, signs, and rhetoric appeared planned and manufactured as part of a coordinated campaign.
The extreme left, Marxists, and progressive activists have also pushed opposition to President Trump and to the government. The fact that students are walking out of high schools to protest ICE is troubling, especially when it appears that teachers supported or encouraged them.
The big question is who is behind this, and how it can be stopped.
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