The world awoke to a seismic shift in global affairs as U.S. President Donald Trump ordered withdrawal from 66 international agencies, embodying his unyielding ‘America First’ philosophy. From climate pacts to health organizations, no forum escaped the purge deemed antithetical to American prosperity.
White House and State Department assessments pegged 31 UN bodies and 35 others as rife with inefficiency and anti-U.S. bias, siphoning funds without returns. ‘These deals obstruct our economy and harm our people,’ Secretary Marco Rubio asserted, linking the exits to Trump’s electoral pledges.
‘By defunding adversarial bureaucrats, we honor commitments to everyday Americans,’ Rubio elaborated. The administration positions this as a clean break from entangling alliances that dilute sovereignty.
Spotlight falls on the International Solar Alliance, a Modi-Ollande brainchild from Paris 2015, now orphaned by U.S. departure. The UNFCCC, ratified by U.S. Senate in 1992 and uniting nearly all nations against climate change, faces abandonment alongside IPCC—targets of Trump’s ‘hoax’ rhetoric.
Compounding this, the Paris Agreement looms as next, following the U.S. no-show at Brazil’s 2025 talks. The WHO exit, notified in January 2025, materializes after 2026. Such actions culminate a pattern of retrenchment, potentially saving billions but risking U.S. marginalization.
Allies like India feel the sting, while foes cheer diminished American reach. Environmentalists lament setbacks in collective action against warming planet. Economists debate if short-term savings outweigh long-term geopolitical costs.
Trump’s masterstroke or misstep? As superpowers recalibrate, this mass exodus redefines multilateralism, challenging nations to fill voids left by the departing giant. History will judge if ‘first’ truly means alone.