I’m from Europe. No one wants to visit Trump’s America.
Trump destroyed my travel business by making America toxic.
By Alex from Home of the Brave
I’m an American by choice. I was born in Poland and chose to come to this country to start a new life and claim my own little piece of the American dream. Like a lot of immigrants, I’m an entrepreneur. I work in the tourism and travel industry, leading tours of the US for international travelers, running a YouTube channel that features travel content, and publishing books for an international audience.
For a while, business was booming. I was able to develop a steady stream of clients who came to admire America’s natural beauty, its rich history, its world-class cities, and its interesting and inviting people. My client base and revenue steadily grew, and engagement with my video content surged.
And then Donald Trump got elected president.
Since taking office for his second term, Trump has ruined America’s standing in the world. Abroad, people look on in horror at Trump’s anti-democratic behavior, his cruel and demeaning treatment of world leaders, his contempt for anyone who is different, and his war on immigrants. Just in the past several months, we’ve watched him kick out international students, deport people without due process, and attack and insult foreign heads of state.
When Trump does these things, the world takes notice. In Europe, public confidence that Trump will do the right thing in world affairs is as low as 15 percent in some countries, according to Pew. In my native Poland, that number is just 35 percent, and the number of people who have a favorable view of the US has dropped by 22 percentage points.
Let me give you the view from abroad: So far this term, Trump has ambushed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House, a man whom many Europeans like and respect. He has threatened to abandon NATO numerous times, an alliance that keeps Europeans—especially those in the East—safe and free. He has cozied up to authoritarian leaders like Viktor Orbán. And he has made clear that his slogan “America First” actually means “America alone.”
Because of all this, tourism to the US among my clients has dried up. I’ve lost 80 percent of my business, basically overnight. People no longer want to travel to a place that could elect such a man as its leader, and many people are downright scared to come here. They worry that their families might get snatched up, or deported to strange lands without any recourse. For many, it’s just not a risk they’re willing to take. Instead, they go to France, Great Britain, Italy, Spain, Germany, Canada—anywhere except Trump’s America.
This directly hurts people like me. By making the US a toxic brand for people around the world, Trump is making it impossible for me to earn a living. The World Travel & Tourism Council has found that air travel to the US has declined significantly since Trump took office, with tens of thousands of canceled trips and $12.5 billion in losses for the US economy.
Without a robust travel industry, it’s hard for me to land clients and create content that people want to engage with. He doesn’t seem to care what others think, so that leaves me to deal with the aftermath on my own. Is this what Trump meant during the campaign when he said that he would be good for the economy, and look out for small businesses like mine?
Until recently, I was getting ready to publish a travel book for release in Poland, about New York City. Perhaps more than anywhere else, the city represents the core essence of America as a melting pot; a place where people of all backgrounds and nationalities have for centuries come together, brought their cultures, and formed a whole greater than the sum of its parts. It is ironic that Donald Trump, himself a New Yorker, would be the one to take a sledgehammer to that global image.
I look forward to a future where my business and my livelihood bounces back. I just don't think it will be under this administration.
Alex is a participant in Home of the Brave, a new initiative highlighting the harms of Donald Trump’s second term.
I'm so sorry. If I were a foreigner, I would not want to come here either. In fact, there are a number of Americans wanting to move to another country.
Even for folks not in the travel business some have been hurt. My brother has a vacation condo in Wildwood Crest NJ. And like many he rents his place part of the year. Well bookings are down from Canadians who are a major customer for the NJ shore.