How long will Americans wonder why the world hates them?

Americans continue to ask the same silly question: Why does the world hate us?

Since I was a student in the US we have been discussing America’s policies of intervention and bias. Figures indicate that the CIA and the agencies affiliated with it have engaged in covert and open interventions to destabilise and overthrow elected regimes.

Their interference in elections and the engineering of coups has led to the overthrow of approximately 50 governments hostile to American interests since the end of World War II. These include the government of Mohammad Mosadegh in Iran in 1953, and the governments of Iraq, Libya, Syria, Cuba, Venezuela, Guatemala, Vietnam, Angola, Brazil, Indonesia, Argentina, Guatemala, and others.

The truth is that there is no difference between the Democrat and Republican American administrations in this regard, as both parties adopt the same approach, led by the deep state.

The Democratic US President Truman made America the first country to recognise Israel on the day of its establishment in 1948, and following this, every US administration has promised to sponsor and support Israel’s occupation of Palestine, covering up its aggression, financing it, and arming it. This made Israel the largest recipient of US financial and military support, totalling more than $300 billion since 1948.

Opinion polls reveal the decline in the popularity of Israel’s policies, along with those of the US among Arab and Muslim nations, as well as public opinion in the West, the East, and the Global South. This is due to the systematic killing and genocide committed against the people of Gaza witnessed and monitored by the world for 20 months, with American weapons, cover, and a shocking veto imposed at the UN. The US has used its veto power approximately 50 times. More shocking is the fact that America has used its veto six times since Operation Al-Aqsa Flood and Israel’s scorched-earth war of annihilation, genocide, and ethnic cleansing in Gaza. The Biden and Trump administrations have failed to put effective pressure on Israel to stop the war and deliver food, water, medicine, and medical supplies since 7 October, 2023, making the US complicit in the war against the Palestinians in Gaza.

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We have witnessed a clear and blatant contradiction from President Trump and his administration, who, since his election campaign and inaugural address as president for his second and final term, have promoted him as a man of peace who seeks to stop and end wars, not start them. There is a clear double standard. He is making every effort through his envoy for everything, Steve Witkoff, to mediate an end to the war, including a call lasting more than two hours with Russian President Putin last Wednesday. He is giving great importance and priority to stopping the war in Ukraine!

Meanwhile, Trump shows no interest or concern in putting the same pressure on Netanyahu to stop the Gaza war, nor does he put real and effective pressure to push Netanyahu to do so. This is despite his knowledge and awareness of the importance of stopping the genocidal war against innocent civilians in Gaza, expressed to him by his Gulf allies during his visit to the Gulf in the middle of last month. He even went as far as using his veto in the Security Council last week, opposing a ceasefire in Gaza and the entry of aid, on the pretext that the draft resolution did not condemn Hamas! This is despite Trump’s clear disagreement with Netanyahu’s behaviour and positions and his demand to stop the war. He heard this in his discussions during his Gulf tour to use his position as president of the US to exert pressure and stop the war. The United States’ veto of the Security Council’s 14-member consensus shocked the entire world, especially the people of Gaza and the frustrated mediators! European and regional allies intensified their criticism and recalled ambassadors in protest of Israel’s war crimes, now the war has lasted over 600 violent days!

The 50th US veto, and the sixth since Israel’s war on Gaza, was a provocation and a challenge to the other member states, representing 95 per cent of the world’s population. This marginalises and weakens the Council’s role, and casts doubt on America’s claims of supporting justice and human rights, and respecting international and humanitarian laws. The US has been lecturing the world to respect these concepts, only to be the first to violate them, thus undermining its moral standing.

There is an obvious contradiction: How can Trump be angry over Gazans’ situation and publicly disagree with Netanyahu over his demands to stop the war and allow aid into the country, and then use his veto in the Security Council? This encourages Netanyahu and his extremist ministers to continue waging their genocidal war and use starvation as a weapon!

There is popular anger within the US over Israel’s continued war on Gaza, led by the Democratic Party’s progressive wing, headed by Senator Bernie Sanders, and representatives such as Alexandira Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, and Cori Bush. There are also protests by university students, activists, and human rights organisations demanding an end to the war, which is being prolonged by the Trump administration’s veto.

Americans will continue to ask, “Why does the world hate us?” as long as the policies of the deep state, its interventions, its contradictory statements, its positions, and its bullying continue, damaging its standing and credibility, even among its allies. This continues to make America hated by the majority of the people around the world.

This article first appeared in Arabic in Al-Quds Al-Arabi on 8 June 2025

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The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.