Ronald Reagan, the late US president who served two terms in the 1980s, often described America as a shining city upon a hill. He popularized the phrase used by John Winthrop, who led about 1,000 English settlers to America in 1630.
Winthrop's city on a hill was religion-based. Reagan's shining city upon a hill represented America as a beacon of freedom, hope, opportunity, and peace.
His vision was for the world to see America as a strong country that protected liberties, emphasized diversity with different people living together in harmony, and a nation that welcomed immigrants who yearned to be Americans.
Is that today's America with Donald Trump, Reagan's fellow Republican, as president? Global opinion suggests not. A Pew Research Center study last month found that people in 25 of 36 countries viewed China more favorably than the US.
This shift from previous surveys was driven more by a large drop in favorable views of America, even among some US allies, than a growth in China's popularity.
I legally emigrated to the US from Hong Kong decades ago, paid my tax every year even while living overseas as required by American law, and benefitted from Reagan's vision of a shining city upon a hill.
Trump is right to deport illegal immigrants, especially those with criminal records. But he has ordered enforcement agencies to deport even law-abiding ones who have lived in the US for decades and are awaiting legal status. They have US-born spouses and children.
He has created hurdles for people who want to legally emigrate to the US and has penalized companies, law firms, and universities that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. Reagan must be turning in his grave.
History has shown it is an unwinnable gamble to bet against America. It has always bounced back from disastrous wars, recessions, and stock market crashes.
The US recovered from Covid much faster than other advanced economies. It remains unchallenged as the top military and economic superpower.
It is fashionable nowadays to mock America as an ebbing superpower with very few friends. But people forget Trump only has thirty months left as president. Voters punish unpopular leaders in every election cycle, Republican or Democrat.
Expect punishment in less than three months in the November 3 mid-term Congressional elections. Polls show voters will hand back control to the Democrats in at least one House of Congress by ousting Trump's Republicans.
Michael Chugani is a longtime journalist who has worked in Hong Kong, the US, and London
