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Comment by throwaway4787 | Hacker News Reader

I guess that's the point. And I mean, Trump appears to have forfeited this role of his own accord, what with all his America First schtick.

Also, it seems that regarding covid the best insights come from China, Korea, Italy or France, not the US.

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Forfeited the role? "Leader of the Free World" was just a rhetorical title and not an actual role. Surely the people in other parts of the Free World didn't think of previous Presidents as their leaders.

In my opinion, all this means is that some media outlets liked previous Presidents and don't like Trump. I'm not convinced anything is actually lost because some people don't call the President "Leader of the Free World."

For the good part of a century, especially after World Wars, the US president has always been considered the _Leader of the Free World_ without having to be an actual ruler of the world.

When US presidents traveled abroad, they were treated as such by great international leaders and their citizens. Even in nations where all concerned were aware of their shortcomings in the _freedom_ area, the US President as the _Leader of the Free World_ was in their vocabulary. With or without envy or admiration.

Up to and including Obama.

I noticed it was over the way they laugh at Trump.

The role really wasn't his to forfeit, partly because it was rhetorical and largely unearned to begin with.

Most previous Presidents didn't rightfully earn the role either, most kind of inherited it by default.

Trump is just the first one to fail bad enough for his underachievement to fall below the default level.

Claiming that it's the media that doesn't like Trump is so wrong. Let's be clear here, a leader should be a clear communicator and if your medium is Twitter and you look at Trump's... Well, should be enough to prove my point.

Coming from Europe, I can only attest the other comment here.

But Trump is most definitely not a worthy president, I doubt the current partnerships would survive another term of Trump.

I wrote that some media doesn't like Trump, and I think that's fairly obviously true. Are you suggesting that all media outlets do like him?

"Leader of the Free World" is just something that American media, and perhaps other media outlets, use. They chose to start using it, to contrast the "Free World" with the enslaved world of the USSR and sundry. Some media outlets have chosen to stop using the term to refer to Trump, but that is purely an expression of their estimation of Trump, it's not an actual role or title lost.

Since you come from Europe, I'm curious to know, did you consider George Bush your leader? Do you consider yourself part of the Free World?

Yes, George Bush was also.

All of the previous presidents knew the strength of partnerships.

Although "i'm coming from Europe", I think my POV is pretty objective. But I will defend that opinion.

I'm part of the Western world and the Western world is currently the most free from all of them.

Ps. I'm not referencing the past, we did harsh things in the "distant past" ( relatively).

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