# American Decay in Trump's Second Term > Trump administration's actions reveal deepening moral and institutional decay. - Title: American Decay in Trump's Second Term · Foreign Policy - Summary: Trump administration's actions reveal deepening moral and institutional decay. Trump administration's public executions, sanctions against ICC, and… - Keywords: trump administration, pete hegseth, navi pillay, international criminal court, israel gaza, vladimir putin, vlodymyr zelensky, kimberly guilfoyle, marco rubio, united states, American, Decay - Source: Foreign Policy — https://foreignpolicy.com/2026/10/14/trump-administration-hegseth-rubio-nobel-us-decay - Author: Howard W. French - Published: 2026-10-14T00:00:00+00:00 - Read time: 2 min - Topics: trump administration, pete hegseth, navi pillay, international criminal court, israel gaza, vladimir putin, vlodymyr zelensky, kimberly guilfoyle, marco rubio, united states ## Trump administration's public execution plan U.S.Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced plans to livestream the execution by firing squad of a former U.S.military officer convicted in 2009 for the terrorist murder of 12 soldiers and a civilian at Fort Hood. > the u.s. military hasn’t performed a public execution in 90 years ## Trump supports public executions U.S. President Donald Trump replied with a single word: 'Absolutely' when asked if he supported public executions. > absolutely ## Trump administration targets ICC Trump administration slammed Norway for selecting Navi Pillay as Nobel peace laureate and announced punitive actions against the International Criminal Court. > pillay had once served as a judge ## Pillay's Gaza genocide findings Pillay led a U.N. commission that concluded Israel's post-Oct. 7, 2023, offensive in Gaza constituted genocide. > the killing of tens of thousands of palestinians and the wholesale devastation of the territory's housing and infrastructure had constituted a genocide ## Trump's fuel deal with Russia Trump suspended sanctions on Moscow to arrange a fuel delivery deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin. > this will boost russian revenues at a time when its war of aggression in ukraine has begun crippling its economy ## Trump criticizes Ukraine Trump denounced Ukraine for defending itself by attacking Russia's petroleum infrastructure. > it didn't matter to him that these were reprisals for russia's savage and much more systematic attacks on ukraine's energy systems and economy ## Guilfoyle's alleged corruption U.S. ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle faces accusations of soliciting payment from a political fundraiser for high-level government access. > text messages that seem to clearly point to a pay-to-play deal ## Trump's son accepts Russian gift Donald Trump Jr. accepted a gift from a shadowy Russian oligarch to finance his post-wedding Caribbean party. > the man, said to be close to putin, scarcely speaks english ## Rubio's Greek myth claim Marco Rubio claimed the United States is a direct descendant of ancient Greece and a paragon of Western ideals. > we believe that europe can awaken from its long slumber and rekindle the fire that was lit here millennia ago ## Trump administration's moral decline The Trump administration's actions signal a deepening moral and institutional decay in the United States. > the pervasive self-congratulation and denial emanating from today's washington ## Global consequences of US decline The Trump administration's actions are pushing the world toward a dangerous direction where rules matter less and naked might prevails. > rules matter less and naked might is given precedence over considerations of what is principled, or right ## US fails to condemn Israel's actions Both Biden and Trump administrations have failed to effectively condemn or restrain Israel's military actions in Gaza. > the u.s. has never articulated a coherent, substantive response to this ## US abandonment of international values The United States has abandoned its international values by treating Israel as an ally despite its actions in Gaza. > this amounts to an abandonment of u.s. values, something the country once staked its international standing on ## Trump's transactional diplomacy Trump's actions toward Russia and Ukraine show a transactional approach to diplomacy that undermines international norms. > the u.s. has long routinely deplored as barbaric ## Key takeaway Trump administration's public executions, sanctions against ICC, and diplomatic corruption signal US moral decline.