You're correct that politics and negotiation can be cutthroat especially in business,.. but some of your statements are surprisingly narrow minded. "Fear is respect" is one example. Fear isn't respect. That should be self-evident. Fear is a tool that should be used with caution. you can accomplish much with fear but overuse leads to backlash. If you push someone into a corner and they don't see a way out, even the smallest quietest mouse will bite and bite viciously. Another truism you may want to consider that i antithetical to Trump politics are "you catch more flies with honey".You appear as one of the more intelligent people on this site. However I seriously doubt the rest of of the world has lost respect for America, just the opposite is true. The hostages are being released “before all hell” would break out. I doubt that occurred prior to the oath of office due to a coincidence. After the President of Columbia shot off his mouth, Trump spoke and Columbia immediately capitulated. A UFC fighter doesn’t enter the ring to play nice. Fear is respect! After Biden, Blinkin and Austin said, “don’t “, The terrorists laughed. After Obama drew a redline in the sand, it was crossed and the world laughed. Weakness does not command respect. Political norms are being broken. You can babble about holding hands and singing Kumbaya all you want, but in the end, results will not occur. Trump is giving the world time to adjust , otherwise he could have acted immediately. Morality and ethics have nothing to do with trade agreements, every country has its own interests in mind and trade agreements are business. Most Americans expect Trump to make the best agreement possible. If it costs jobs in another country, not my problem. If you bid on a house, do you want to get the best price possible, or do kick in an extra 100k to be nice? Trump must rock the boat to get their attention. Otherwise, countries will laugh and draw out negotiations. I buy land and develop commercial buildings. When I negotiate contracts, I do not think about fairness, I think about profit margin. I believe you are the person whom previously indicated you are some type of financial planner. You teach financially uneducated people things they should have had the motivation at a young age to teach themselves. I suspect most of your clients are already in trouble. Hopefully you do not teach contact negotiation!
Trump has 18 months before the midterms and if he cannot fulfill his promises, he will lose the house a senate. He has no time to hold hands and sing.
The other factor that seems to be completely missing from your consideration is the effect this has on the American people. Tariffs and trade wars have consequences. I'm pretty sure that you're smart enough to understand that although other countries are impacted economically tariffs that disrupt their normal trade practices, it is in reality the citizens of the country employing the tariff that pays them making life much more difficult for, in this case, Americans. The last time Trump tried the Tariff route many Americans greatly suffered from the effects. Nobody wins in a trade war.
Needless to say I disagree with your belief that the rest of the world has lost respect for America, and the opposite being true. For quite some time the USA has had two faces to the world. The first is the champion of freedom, liberty, strength and equality for all "the American Dream". The America we can respect. The second is greedy, capitalistic, self centered, egotistical, corporate rapists willing to do anything for a dollar. That's the America we fear. Trump epitomizes the second face of the USA. People may Fear the Trump USA, but they don't Respect it.
Have you ever travelled outside the USA/Canada/Mexico? I've always gotten much better service when I tell them that I'm not American but Canadian. Some countries really do like Americans a lot,... but that's nowhere near universal as many countries view Americans as ignorant, entitled bullies. That viewpoint is being enhanced by Trump.
Canada has always been willing to work with our friends and neighbours in the USA. We're happy to help. We generally like Americans. Just look at the Canadian water planes that have been sent down to help fight the fires in LA as an example. But push comes to shove Trump has the ability to flush all that goodwill down the toilet. I am fairly certain that if Mara Lago was on fire you'd get a somewhat poorer showing. Might get a few volunteers to piss on it. (perhaps that's unfairly said because we would probably still help - but you understand the sentiment).
Cheers.