PRINCETON, New Jersey –
When issuing their warnings about Western “civilizational erasure,” U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance often point to the United Kingdom, and especially London, to make their case.
But while the U.K. does offer a cautionary tale, it is not the one MAGA has in mind. Rather than indulging in anti-immigration culture wars, Trump and his followers’ time would be better spent examining how Britain struggled with the loss of global preeminence. No other country’s recent past offers a clearer preview of America’s potential future.
The Anglo-American relationship has been perpetually fascinating. From the 19th century onward, impoverished British politicos and aristocrats often maintained their status by marrying into American money. Britons used the New World to rejuvenate the old one, but they always bristled at their new dependence.