Professor Richard Wolff didn’t hold back during his appearance on the Democracy Now YouTube channel, calling President Trump’s trade and tariff war a clear indicator of America’s decline—specifically, the unraveling of what he bluntly describes as an American empire.

Calling the U.S. an “empire” is taboo in mainstream discourse, where America is often painted as a bastion of freedom and fairness, a nation that welcomes the world with open arms. But Wolff challenges that narrative, pointing out that with unmatched economic and military dominance, America has operated like an empire for over a century—just one that refuses to admit it.

And like all empires, its dominance isn’t eternal.

America’s grip on global power is slipping. The Far East, long suppressed by colonial forces, is rising fast—and with it, the U.S. faces its first true economic rival in generations.

Wolff argues that Trump’s aggressive trade policies aren’t a show of strength—they’re a desperate reaction to deeper, systemic failures within the American economy. Underneath the bluster, he says, lies a nation struggling to maintain its status at the top.