In this weekly feature for Andelman Unleashed, we continue to explore how media of other nations view America and the rest of the world, bringing to bear 60 years of reporting from 90+ countries. We cover lots of ground—diving each week through 30+ newspapers & 100+ websites on every continent. You may not want to read it all, but it’s all here for you!
We can all learn from what others say about us, around the globe.
To accomplish this mission for you, I pay for a host of global media—newspapers, magazines, websites, television—so you all can become better informed about the world…A (lightly) paid, even Founder subscription would help if you are able…and allow you to participate to the fullest in our adventures.
With some real caveats around the globe….let’s start with Le Monde and correspondent Corine Lesnes in Philadelphia concluding her 13-part opus:
The Trump presidency, seasons 1 and 2, undermines national cohesion. The ideal of equality established in the founding documents remains distant, the system of checks and balances has fractured, reform seems impossible. The people's belief in their shared history is eroding. Even the nature of the regime is being debated.
For 249 years, the United States was able to teach the world a thing or two, thanks to the ingenious workings of its institutions….One hesitates to imagine what Benjamin Franklin would say about the current collapse of checks and balances, the famous countervailing powers envisioned by the Founding Fathers. Donald Trump has shattered the norms….Citizens are discovering that their republic is a house of cards that a man of questionable morality has managed to shake.
Americans no longer seem to agree on anything. Not even on the nature of their institutions. Republic? Democracy? After two and a half centuries, they’re still debating it. Every time Democrats lament the fact that the candidate with the most votes in the presidential election isn’t declared the winner, due to the Electoral College system—something that has happened five times in history, twice in favor of Republicans in the last twenty years—conservatives remind their fellow citizens: the United States is “a republic, not a democracy.” The founders intended it that way, they insist, to avoid the “tyranny of the majority.”
With the Electoral College increasingly contested, Republicans—who benefit from disproportionate representation it creates, given rural states tend to lean right—are determined to preserve it. In several conservative states, like Utah, it has become mandatory to teach children that their country is a republic, not a democracy.
[Still], a quarter millennium after its founding, most Americans continue to believe in their destiny. Providence, once again, will not abandon them along the way.
Across town, right-wing competitor Le Figaro’s refrain is not so different …
250 years of the United States: celebration under the sign of Trump
The American president dissolved the bipartisan commission in charge of organizing the July 4th festivities, now glorifying him and polarizing an America more fractured than ever.
And there were lots of caveats about just how America got to be what it is [from the Monroe Doctrine to the Donroe Doctrine] :
By contrast, neither The Times nor The Telegraph, two major dailies in Britain—colonizers of the land that would become America—paid a single word of attention on page one to this anniversary of the 13 colonies’ liberation from the kingdom, though The Times led with a little warning crossing the ocean [happy birthday indeed]:
In Germany, by contrast, the leading daily, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, led with its own take on America 2026 from its Washington correspondent, Majid Sattar….
What is there to celebrate?
The 250th anniversary of American independence should be a celebration of democracy. But the times for that are bad.
Can we simply celebrate America in 2026? As if nothing had happened? No Donald Trump? No attempt to transform the republic into an authoritarian state? No shameless corruption by the Trump clan? No president who persecutes his political opponents and lies to the people daily without batting an eye?
Actor and filmmaker Robert De Niro recently said that the phrase “We love our country” sticks in his throat because the country isn’t so lovable right now. “I hate to say it, but loving our country is starting to sound like the words of an abused wife saying she loves her abusive husband.” De Niro isn’t a left-wing alarmist. He’s an American patriot who created a critical monument to the CIA with his film “The Good Shepherd.” Talk show host Bill Maher, whose show satirizes Trump and the MAGA world as well as left-wing intellectual laziness and woke excesses, countered that it must be possible to celebrate America without excluding Trump.
One can be patriotic regardless of who occupies the Oval Office. Trump is merely temporary caretaker. “It’s about America—and he is not America.” What Maher and De Niro expressed in their respective ways perfectly captures the inner turmoil many Americans are currently experiencing.
Meanwhile, FAZ correspondent Tobias Rüther asks:
And then there’s the joy on p.1 of Wyborcza, Poland’s leading daily’s weekend edition:
Donald Trump wouldn't be himself if he didn't try to transform national celebrations into a celebration of himself. To mark the 250th anniversary of the United States, Americans can purchase limited-edition passports—with Trump's image, of course. His likeness will also appear on a commemorative 24-karat gold coin, and his signature on new U.S. banknotes. As if that weren't enough, Trump has announced the construction of a triumphal arch with a golden Statue of Liberty atop it. Instead of attempting to unite a divided society on a major occasion, Trump is deepening these divisions once again.
Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post leads with Lucy Quaggin from New York :
As the United States marks the 250th anniversary of its founding, it confronts a new world order dominated by its relationship with China. In this wide-ranging series, we examine the pressure points and possibilities in those ties, from hard tech to soft power. As America approaches its 250th anniversary, some young Asian-Americans are asking what the future of this relationship looks like and how this key geopolitical rivalry will influence their own lives.
When it comes to US-China relations, Generation Z, roughly born between 1997 and 2012, has seen Beijing emerge as Washington’s primary adversary and one of the world’s leading powers. While this group describes bilateral ties as fragile, they also express a cautious sense of optimism.
American views on China are softening, with positive sentiment nearly doubling since 2023, according to a 2026 survey by the Pew Research Centre. Most Americans still regard China as a competitor to the US rather than a partner, but fewer call it an adversary than in 2025.
Meanwhile, there’s a broader question of America’s actual place in the world…where competition appears to be building toward a two-way challenge for leadership. Dr. Michal Meidan, head of China Energy Research at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, explored thisfor paid subscribers in Friday’s Unleashed Conversation….
Across Latin America, El Pais celebrates in its own fashion:
or for we gringos….
Of course, the American Pope weighed as La Stampa observed:
Finally, The Economist toyed with several covers….
It’s a big birthday! And a big birthday needs a big cake! And a big cake needs lots of pizzazz and exclamation marks! But it’s also a time to take stock. To ponder the state of the world. And to warn of the perils that lie ahead.
The United States is once again rising up, as it did in 1776—but this time the revolution is against the world America itself created….Restlessness is precisely what prevents the republic from stagnating. Creative destruction precedes renewal.
We stuck with a cake—but decorated it with 250 matches in the place of candles. Just one is lit. If you look closely at its head, you will spot a familiar silhouette.
A collection of matches, just one lit—with a very Trumpian flame…
As a leadup, earlier in the week, Le Monde was transfixed by the arrival of Democratic Socialists and what this could mean for an America on a knife’s edge ….
United States: the emergence of a more radical left
The Democratic primaries in preparation for the midterm elections in November are revealing a new generation of the American left
These candidates are campaigning on universal healthcare, re-industrialization, the cost of living, but also on criticism of Israel
They are following in the footsteps of Zohran Mamdani, who became mayor of New York in January, and who redefined the codes of communication
While the front has cleaved for the 2028 presidential election, the ideological and strategic battle rages within the party
Certainly, some are advocating for a more traditional approach beyond the Democratic camp
And then there’s Donald Trump’s flaming family….as DW from Germany unpacked….
It was the latest escalation of the “Flamingo Revolution,” which has seen near-daily protests against a major development backed by Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner in the ecologically protected area of Zvernec on Albania’s southern coast.
At least 18 people were detained, police said, while 12 officers were injured as some protesters threw eggs, rocks and other objects outside the parliament in Tirana. Interior Minister Besfort Lamallari condemned “the acts of vandalism and criminal violence” against the police.
The Sazan Island Resort, dubbed locally “Kushner Island," the latest wave of protests beginning after barbed-wire fencing and bulldozers appeared on a beach.
Oh and that SAVE Act Trump wants so badly…perhaps he’s taking a cue from his great friend, India’s Prime Minister Modi? Gajal Gupta reports from New Delhi:
The Indian government declares that a passport is not proof of citizenship and strips millions of people of welfare benefits. The country continues a process of revising its electoral rolls, known as the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), across multiple states. The SIR process has been marred by accusations of disenfranchisement, with reports finding that migrant workers and people from ethnic minorities and marginalized communities have been overwhelmingly excluded from voter lists.
There are also signs that the SIR and citizenship checks are being used to target journalists. Former editor of India’s Telegraph, R Rajagopal, was removed from voter lists and had his passport renewal declined. Meanwhile, the [Modi ruling Hindu party] BJP in West Bengal has decided to link exclusion from electoral rolls to welfare benefits, which puts millions at risk of losing the lifeline of government aid in the state—home to 25 million Muslim citizens.
New threats, new challenges, their antecedents…Plus, an inscribed copy of my book, A Red Line in the Sand. Founding members get my last three books! Along with a weekly portfolio of cartoons…and Friday our weekly live conversation.…with a new Celebrity Guest to decode the universe, or America’s next challenge:
John E. Katsos is a Greek-American Professor of Management, Entrepreneurship, and Strategy at the American University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. He is editor-in-chief of Society and Business Review and conducts research on how businesses can act sustainably and promote social value through crisis and conflict.Katsos was nominated for the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize for his work promoting business engagement in peace. His work with John J. Forrer shows how companies can have the greatest impact on peace in 6–10 years after the cessation of hostilities, which they term the “buffer condition”. He’s engaged with businesses in Syria, Iraq, Sri Lanka, Colombia, Palestine, Cyprus, Lebanon, Ukraine, and China. Katsos's recent book, Ethical Leadership in Conflict and Crisis, is the most-read leadership book in the Cambridge University Press Elements series.
TEHRAN: Tens of thousands of Iranians thronged a vast outdoor prayer complex in Tehran on Saturday to view the coffins of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader killed at the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran, and his family. Dressed in black and draped in the red, white and green flags of the Islamic Republic of Iran, mourners held up portraits of Khamenei and his son and successor, Mojtaba.
In a show of public devotion to the Islamic Republic’s theocratic state and revolutionary zeal, Iran is staging a week of mass funeral processions for the supreme leader killed in February by the opening airstrikes of the war. After a day lying in state indoors for senior Iranian leaders and foreign officials to visit, Khamenei’s coffin was put on display under glass outdoors, along with those of his daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law and 14-month-old granddaughter. There has still been no public sighting or image released of Mojtaba, the new leader, said to have been injured in the attack that killed his father.
Mourners filed into the vast courtyard of the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla, beating their chests, wailing and waving the banners of the Islamic Republic. Women dressed in black chadors wore white visors or held umbrellas to shield from the hot mid-morning sun. “Let us wail!” a compere encouraged the crowds through a loudspeaker. Chants of “Death to America” echoed through the huge prayer hall.
Not surprisingly, The Times of Israel has a slightly different take ….
It’s beginning to look a bit like Christmas for Zelensky, though for Putin little but coal in his stocking….As the Institute for the Study of War uncovered:
Russian President Vladimir Putin used a staged meeting with several Russian commanders to make greatly exaggerated claims of Russian advances that do not match battlefield realities in order to construct a narrative of continuous Russian military successes. Putin met with the Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, Russian Northern Force Commander General Yevgeny Nikiforov, Southern Force Commander General Sergey Medvedev, and other Russian commanders. Putin reiterated his consistent claims that Russian forces seized all of Luhansk and continue advancing across the entire frontline. Putin claimed Russian forces seized 133 settlements and over 3,000 square kilometers since January 1, and Gerasimov claimed Russian forces seized 29 settlements and 636 sq kms in June. Other Russian commanders made similar claims about the settlements and [extent] of land Russian forces allegedly seized in several sectors of the frontline. ISW has only observed evidence to assess Russian forces seized or infiltrated 64 settlements and seized or infiltrated 621.7 sq kms across the theater since the start of 2026, and seized or infiltrated 20 settlements and gained or infiltrated approximately 30.42 sq kms in the theater in June. Putin and other Russian military commanders [also] heavily exaggerated the claimed seizure of Kostyantynivka.
More broadly, Le Monde led its front page this weekend …
Ukraine: how the Russian army lost the initiative
The Kremlin claimed the seizure of Kostiantynivka, in the east of the country, but the rhythm of the Russian territorial nibbling continues to decline
For several weeks, Ukraine multiplied its deep strikes in Russia, with human and petroleum resources dwindling
The Russian air attacks on residential buildings in Kyiv, which left 30 dead, looks like an admission of frustration
Supported by an innovative defense industry, the Ukrainian army has still been unable to resume the offensive in ground combat
Despite a hemorrhaging economy, Vladimir Putin refuses all diplomatic options to put an end to the war.
Perhaps soon, though not quite yet? Our Substack colleague David Smith reported from this country—that Putin could well see as a target after Ukraine:
This move came without warning and with no explanation beyond the cryptic allusion to his inability to “exercise my mandate in accordance with my principles and beliefs.” His resignation triggers the collapse of the Munteanu government which came into office on October 31, 2025. President Sandu at a press conference thanked the Prime Minister for his service and then immediately sought to debunk rumors about his departure saying:
The speculation that ‘he wanted to fight against abuses and was not allowed’ is false. The Prime Minister had a free hand to lead the Government as he considered correct. He chose to leave.”
Meanwhile, ZDG News reported:
Munteanu will provide the interim until a new prime minister is appointed. Sandu will begin consultations with the parties to identify a new head of government
For our highly valued, but lightly paid, members…The full hour of Unleashed Conversation with Dr. Michal Meidan … And our weekly portfolio from the world’s Cartoonists.
Also, there is the full Star Spangled banner as reconsidered by Ella Marsh of our luminous Marsh Familysingers from Britain….For just a taste, here’s her opening:
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