In a recent essay published in Project Syndicate, American political scientist Joseph Nye lamented the decline of American soft power in the article "American Soft Power in the Age of Trump."

Nye has been no stranger to political theories about power, be it soft or smart power. In fact, he is the very person who pioneered the theory of soft power. More recently, he explained the theory of smart power, or the ability to combine hard and soft power into a successful strategy, particularly during the Barack Obama administration.

I translated Nye's book, The Powers to Lead, into Chinese in 2008, which provided a good summary of his thoughts about smart power. At that time of upbeat American spirit, when Barack Obama was elected into the White House and worked with the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to promote the so-called "pivot" and "rebalance," it seemed simply unimaginable that the American message to the rest of the world would morph into something completely different.

In the age of Trump, the message from the administration and its backers is a deeply disturbing one: Let's forget about being soft or smart. It's all about America First.

It is therefore unsurprising, now in the age of Trump, Nye as the pioneering advocate of American soft, plus smart, power is feeling frustrated. This frustration is not limited to the Americans only, but the whole world.

While lamenting the sorry state of American soft power in the age of Trump, Nye nevertheless remains optimistic in his Project Syndicate piece that the American civil society has retained its "attractiveness."

Given this optimism, the discourse about American soft and smart power arises out of the belief of the United States as a "benign hegemon," at least believed by liberal and neoliberal political scientists including Nye.

Is this belief shared by the American civil society? Or maybe the right question should be: Does American society still share the same value?

In the age of Trump, American society is increasingly divided into opposing camps. A more profound question, therefore, should be: Is Trump the cause or the result of this bitter bipolarity?

To answer this profound question, clues may be found in a review of the recent trajectory of the American national strength. Post-Cold War triumphalism had long faded, as the Pax Americana dream was shattered by 9/11 and numerous terrorist attacks. America incorporations hurt badly during the 2008 financial crisis, with average American citizens having to shoulder the ensuing biting economic burden. American capitalism had been questioned. The apparent trend of global power relativity roused the nerves of American elites.

The recent trajectory has produced Trump, who won the election in 2016 and is leading America in a way pretty much fulfilling his campaign platform.

Nye implies Trump is not representing American civil society, as Democrats and critics have always argued that Trump lost the popular vote. However, this is only a statistical issue affecting American domestic politics, and the global community, hearing the messages and seeing the actions of the American president and his administration, has their own judgment to make about American attitude.

In essence, American soft and smart power, as spearheaded by Nye as well as fellow liberal and neoliberal believers, is only a concept, instead of truth to be taken for granted.

If in the Clinton and Obama years, such a concept was part of American foreign policy to guide the country's interactions with the global community, soft and smart power does not seem to be on the agenda of the incumbent American president. The world is seeing that and must be ready to deal with the only superpower as it is.

(Cover: Then-U.S.-president-elect Donald J. Trump and wife Melania Trump arrive at the "Make America Great Again" Welcome Celebration concert at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC, January 19, 2017.)