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The United Nations General Assembly holds a vote on Dec. 21 in which 128 nations supported a non-binding resolution condemning US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. (Yonhap News)

On Dec. 21, the UN passed a resolution rejecting US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel by an overwhelming margin of 128 in favor and 9 opposed. The previous day, Trump threatened to cut off aid to countries opposing him, and UN Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley warned that “we will remember it when we are called upon once again to… [contribute] to the United Nations.” Even so, they were unable to buck the trend.

This vote aptly illustrates how the US’s international prestige has fallen. The erstwhile leader of the UN has now become its nemesis, as it turns from defender to destroyer of the international order. In regard to the issue of Palestine, there has long been a consensus in the international community about the two-state solution, in which Israel and Palestine are regarded as separate states, and on the refusal to recognize conquered territory as a capital.

Despite repeated requests and lobbying from Israel, the US had never crossed this line. But apparently because of domestic policy goals, and in disregard of the chaos this would cause in the international community, Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. On top of that, Trump overtly tried to blackmail other countries before the vote, the way a gangster might do. This is not the US that the world used to know.

The US tried to strong-arm struggling countries into supporting its position by threatening to cut off foreign aid. That was a low blow. It also mentioned its contribution to the UN. The US covered 22% of the UN’s budget this year, and the UN can’t stay in business without the US.

The Trump administration appears to mistakenly regard its foreign aid and its contributions to the UN as being some kind of entirely altruistic charity project. It needs to recognize that the peace and stability of the international community are directly connected with the US’s national interests, considering that it’s a superpower and an economic power.

The National Security Strategy report that the Trump administration released on Dec. 18 offered “principled realism” as the cornerstone of the US national security strategy. But the behavior of the Trump administration on the international stage is neither principled or realistic.

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