WASHINGTON — American presidents are usually at least great at being leaders of the free world at the helm a strong democracy and armies that allies around the world can rally around and reasonably rely on for support in return.

Not so under President-elect Donald Trump, a critic of many existing US alliances, whose winning a second term This week, close European partners called for a new era of self-reliance that does not depend on American goodwill.

“We must not delegate our security to America forever,” French said President Emmanuel Macron said at a European summit Thursday.

Based on Trump’s first term and campaign statements, the US will become less predictable, more chaotic, colder with allies and warmer to strong peopleand much more transactional in choosing friends globally than before. America’s Place in World Affairs and security will fundamentally change, say Trump’s critics and supporters alike.

His supporters say he will simply be pickier about US alliances and battles than previous presidents.

When it comes to the role of the US on the world stage, we are no longer talking about the country as the leader of the free world, said Fiona Hill, a former Russia adviser to Trump and previous US presidents.

Maybe “the free world for all, his rule?” Hill suggested in a recent Podcast of the European Council on Foreign Relations. “I mean, what exactly are we driving here?”

Trump, with varying degrees of consistency, was critical of NATO and support for Ukraine and Taiwan, two threatened democracies that depend on US military support to counter Russia and China.

Trump has shown little interest in the long-standing role of the US as the anchor of strategic alliances with European and Indo-Pacific democracies. Before the elections, partners and opponents were already there reassessing their security arrangements in preparation for Trump’s possible return.

European allies, in particular, supported efforts to build their own and regional defenses rather than relying on The US as the anchor of NATOmutual defense pact, both Trump and fellow candidate JD Vance spoke scathingly. Hours after Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris, the defense chiefs of France and Germany scheduled talks to address the fallout.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau revived a special committee of the Cabinet on Canada-US relations to address concerns about another Trump presidency. Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, now ambassador to the US, whose government is investing in a US defense partnership, deleted old tweets which included calling Trump “the most destructive president in US history.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin they appeared to be shaping war strategies with the hope that Trump might give them freer rein.

Victoria Coates, a security adviser to Trump in his first term, denies anything portraying him as an isolationist.

“I think he’s extremely judicious in terms of applying the U.S. military and being involved in conflicts that we can’t resolve,” she said recently on a security podcast.

As evidence of its global commitment, Coates said Trump’s support for Israel as they are paid wars against Iran-backed militant groups in Gaza and Lebanon.

She called Iran’s nuclear program “the biggest concern” abroad and suggested that its progress toward the possibility of nuclear weapons meant Trump may have to act more forcefully than in his first term, when he lifted sanctions against Iran in what he called a “maximum pressure” campaign.

Trump, a long time open admirer of Putinwas most consistent in pointing to support for Ukraine as a possible policy shift.

Philip Breedlove, a former Air Force general and top NATO commander, said he could see both positive expectations and deep concerns for Ukraine and NATO in the next four years under Trump.

While Trump’s NATO rhetoric during his first administration was often tough, it did not lead to actual reductions in U.S. troops in Europe or declining support for the alliance, Breedlove said. And 23 NATO nations spend at least 2% of their gross domestic product for defense, compared to 10 in 2020, helping counter a persistent Trump complaint.

More troubling, Breedlove said, is Trump’s vow to immediately end the war in Ukraine.

While this goal is noble, “ending wars on proper terms is one thing. Surrendering to an enemy to stop a conflict is a different thing. And that worries me,” Breedlove said.

He and others have warned that ending the war that gives Russia additional territory in Ukraine will set a bad precedent. European nations fear it will encourage Putin to come after them.