Opinion | Trump and Musk are destroying a priceless American asset

He writes that Elon Musk, frustrated that Starlink had not been cleared to launch in India, this month accused the government of protecting Mukesh Ambani[2], whose Jio network is starting its own satellite service.The columnist asks whether India, in another crisis with Pakistan, would "want its armed forces to be utterly dependent on a U.S. satellite system controlled by Trump and Musk?"[2]Zakaria writes that after World War II, Japan and Germany "entrusted their ultimate defense to American soldiers and American nuclear weapons."[2] In his view, "American power was formidable but trust in America was priceless."[2]The column cites polling showing that in South Korea, favourable views of the United States have fallen from 77 percent in 2024 to 45 percent this year[2]. Zakaria adds that an August survey found that 65 percent of South Koreans support acquiring nuclear weapons.[2]He also writes that in August, Saudi Arabia signed a mutual-defense pact with Turkey and nuclear-armed Pakistan[2]. Citing a recent Post report[2], he says Saudi Arabia has not ruled out getting nuclear weapons.Zakaria ends by saying that "Trump believes he is making America's allies pay their own bills. He may end up making them build their own bombs."[2]Foreign Policy, which also ran the column, describes Zakaria as the host of CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS[2].