"The mighty United States as Gulliver, bound by tiny threads on the shores of Lilliput, comes to mind.  That this image and those beliefs do not marry with the fact that the United States is the world’s leading economy by every measure doesn’t matter."

Defense/military spending is one area where this view holds some truth.   Many countries have benefitted from the US' security umbrella.   As the worlds' military superpower the US' expenditures on defense prevent it from making investments elsewhere such as education or healthcare.     The US could initiate a frank discussion on Security and military expenditures.   This means the US would also need to renegotiate their role as the global police an work more co-operatively with their allies in exchange for greater military investments.     This will not happen under Trump.