Falling star

Follow Us Get the newsletter The U.S. has gone from banning travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries during Donald Trump's first weeks in office to facing restrictions on American visitors from a host of governments as the coronavirus outbreak rages. New European Union guidelines allow Chinese nationals to enter — but not Americans. For critics of Trump's "America First" mantra, Nick Wadhams writes, it's symbolic of the U.S.'s falling star. Washington has failed to rally support for its decision to quit the World Health Organization, and its "maximum pressure" campaigns on North Korea, Iran and Venezuela have generally fallen flat. It's also bickering with key allies on issues including trade and defense. At home, the U.S. is a house divided on everything from wearing masks to racial discrimination, with the president describing Black Lives Matter protests that broke out after the death of George Floyd at the hands of police as orchestrated by the "radical left." He's sharpening his rhetoric as a slump in opinion polls clouds his re-election bid. A majority of Europeans say the U.S. is no longer a reliable ally, according to a European Council on Foreign Relations survey. And the world's biggest economy, often the steady juggernaut, is contracting, weighing down a global recovery. There's little prospect of quick change, with top U.S. infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci saying yesterday, "We're still knee-deep in the first wave" of the pandemic. Once first on the global stage, the U.S. appears to be heading inexorably toward the back of the line. — Karl Maier   Red and blue smoke fill the air after cannons were fired during the Salute to America event in Washington, D.C., on July 4. Photographer: Stefani Reynolds/Consolidated News Photos Tell us how we're doing or what we're missing at balancepower@bloomberg.net. Global Headlines Uneasy streets | Georgia state Governor Brian Kemp is deploying as many as 1,000 National Guard troops to protect state buildings in Atlanta following violence that killed an 8-year-old girl and three others, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. New firewall | ByteDance's TikTok will pull its viral video app from Hong Kong's mobile stores, the first internet service to withdraw after Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law on the city. Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Twitter won't process user data requests from the Hong Kong government amid concerns the law could criminalize protests. Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said "people will not regularly fall afoul of the law," hours after her government asserted broad new police powers including warrantless searches, online surveillance and property seizures. Australia warned citizens they risk "arbitrary" arrest in China following the detention of foreigners there on security grounds. Veering right | Polish President Andrzej Duda is tilting further to the right to woo ultra-conservative voters he needs in Sunday's runoff election. With opinion polls showing him in a dead heat with Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, Duda proposed a constitutional amendment outlawing adoption by gay couples, taking a page from President Vladimir Putin, who just enshrined an effective ban on gay marriage in Russia's constitution. Duda supporters outside the presidential palace in Warsaw on June 26. Photographer: Piotr Malecki/Bloomberg Balancing act | The U.K. is stepping up criticism of Beijing and Moscow as it seeks a place for itself in the world after Brexit. It announced sanctions on 49 individuals and organizations from Russia, Saudi Arabia and North Korea for human-rights abuses and is preparing to phase China's Huawei out of plans for 5G networks. At the same time, the U.K. needs quick trade deals and could risk retaliation from the countries it targeted. France's decision to give only temporary security approval for 5G equipment shows the government intends to gradually sideline Huawei, a majority party lawmaker said. Name cut | London's City University dropped the name of Sir John Cass from its world-renowned business school yesterday because of his links to the slave trade. Jess Shankleman looks at how pressure is intensifying on colleges and universities to respond to slavery and racism, with the University of Oxford locked in a battle over the legacy of the British colonialist Cecil Rhodes, who established the prestigious provisions of Rhodes scholarship. What to Watch Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was tested again for Covid-19 after showing symptoms (local media reported he has a light fever), with the results expected today. Australia's second-largest city, Melbourne, will be locked down for six weeks as a virus outbreak risks triggering a second wave of infections, returning to restrictions that were lifted weeks ago across the country. Russian investigators detained an adviser to the head of the country's space agency on charges of treason. And finally ... For years, North Korean defectors have used free-speech protections in South Korea to taunt the regime in Pyongyang. Now, South Korean President Moon Jae-in believes some have taken it too far. Two brothers who led prominent defector groups were questioned by police last week, after Moon's administration sought to have them prosecuted for leaflets they sent over the border. That's led to claims Moon is prioritizing ties with Pyongyang over the abuses highlighted by defectors. Defectors prepare to release helium balloons carrying leaflets during an anti-North Korea rally near the border north of Seoul in October 2013. 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