US President Donald Trump has exploited American nationalism as effectively as anyone in living memory. What sets him apart is his use of national humiliation as a political emotion. Any presidential candidate can talk their country up, but Trump knows how to talk his country down.

Trump’s consistent message has been that American problems – trade deficits, job losses, illegal immigration, crime and even drug addiction – are the result of deliberate acts by other countries. The humiliating part is that American politicians let it happen.

Many Americans have welcomed Trump’s message that their country’s problems can be solved by reestablishing international dominance. They see this nationalist approach as an overdue corrective to the “globalist” foreign policies of the post-Second World War era.

But people in other countries also have feelings of national pride and aspire to be free from foreign domination. This should be obvious, but so far Trump is ignoring the power of nationalism in other countries even as he harnesses it in his own. This makes his foreign policy job a lot harder.

Take the example of Canada.

When Trump was elected to his second term in November 2024, it seemed certain there would soon be a Canadian prime minister who was more aligned with him than Justin Trudeau. Trudeau’s unpopularity had dragged the Liberal Party down, and the populist Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre looked set to win this year’s election.

As he prepared for a trade war with Canada, Trump could have concentrated his fire on his enemies in the doomed Liberal government. Instead, he spent months insulting Canada’s national identity. He repeatedly said Canada should be the “

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