A left-leaning foreign affairs columnist for the Washington Post said President Obama has fostered a global environment where bad actors abroad feel empowered to confront the U.S.
In an op-ed published Tuesday night, David Ignatius said Republican Donald Trump’s candidacy is a “reminder that we are drifting toward a kind of bullyboy-world, where power is everything.” But he said Obama bears some responsibility for this.
“Historians will have to decide whether Barack Obama’s presidency encouraged this fraying of limits,” he wrote. “For all his decency, Obama conveyed a sense that you could defy the United States and its cherished ‘rules-based order’ and get away with it.”
This week, the White House said it is considering a “proportional” response to Russia, which the Obama administration has said is behind widespread email hackings of Democratic Party leaders.
Democrats have argued that Russian President Vladimir Putin is attempting to sway the election in Trump’s favor.
