What has been the Trump presidency’s impact on America’s global standing? Founding friends Curtis Chang and David French discuss how recent shifts signal a broader existential reckoning for the nation. As they analyze Trump’s Foreign Policy, a troubling picture emerges – one where long-standing alliances are strained, support for democracies like Ukraine is uncertain, and the dismantling of institutions such as USAID raise serious ethical concerns.

At the heart of their conversation is the question: Is the U.S. still committed to America’s core values of liberty, democracy, and justice? Or has the country reached a moment where U.S. Democracy is at a Crossroads, grappling with its identity and role on the world stage?

Curtis and David examine the American foreign policy shift through a distinctly faith-informed lens, exploring the tension between authoritarianism and democracy and the spiritual implications of aligning with authoritarian figures like Vladimir Putin. The Trump and Putin comparison is not merely political, but reflects deeper moral and theological dilemmas for believers navigating the intersection of Christian conservatism and politics.

The episode also highlights broader U.S. global leadership challenges and what it means for America and other liberal democracies. As U.S. international relations grow more complex and sometimes contradictory, the question of restoring American credibility becomes central – not only politically, but morally.

Using scripture, historical Christianity, and the Declaration of Independence, Chang and French offer a thoughtful analysis of the U.S. political landscape, where faith is not divorced from policy, but deeply embedded in it. They challenge listeners to confront the ethical challenges in U.S. leadership, and consider how faith and politics can realign to support democracy and global stability.

In examining fiscal policy under Trump, the conversation also touches on how domestic priorities reflect foreign policy attitudes – and how stewardship, justice, and moral and spiritual clarity should guide both.

This excerpt has been edited for length and clarity.

Curtis Chang: When you think about the American national character, what are some characteristics that you think are really what America was meant to image?

David French: I think what we should be imaging is exactly what we state right up front in the Declaration of Independence: that all men are created equal and we’re endowed by God with certain unalienable rights. If you begin with that premise, that is a powerful moral declaration that has implications that radiate across the world – especially as the United States has become a more dominant economic and military power.

This is what we are at our best. We believe in human dignity and human liberty. The fact that we do have that North Star has really been a key element in making the United States a better place, because of that statement in 1776.

That’s how you evaluate our national character: are we moving towards that North Star or away from it? Right now we are absolutely moving away from it. You cannot look at the MAGA movement and say ‘this is a movement that believes in its bones that all men are created equal and endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights.’ No. Their allies are endowed with unalienable rights. For their enemies, there is nothing. For their enemies, there is pain. For their enemies, there is suffering.