During the 2000 election campaign, George W. Bush repeatedly advocated a “humble” U.S. presence on the world stage. However, those declarations quickly went overboard after the catastrophic events of September 11, 2001. The unprecedented terrorist attacks cast a shadow over virtually all policies of the Bush administration, foreign and domestic, with vast ramifications for U.S. soft power and transatlantic relations. In response to 9/11, the Bush Doctrine emerged, built on the four pillars of military preeminence, preemptive military action, unilateralism, and democracy promotion—each bearing the distinct hallmarks of neoconservatism. All aspects of the Bush Doctrine, as well as key policies pursued during the Bush years (2001–2009), were met with substantial disapproval in Germany—in the media, among the public, and among leading decision-makers. The chapter, therefore, attests to a significant decline in U.S. soft power during those years, driven by the controversial Bush Doctrine, the conduct of the “War on Terror,” and most notably, the decision to invade Iraq. This decline in U.S. soft power had tangible political consequences, such as growing German opposition to key Bush administration policies, particularly regarding the Iraq War, and a marked decrease in U.S.-German voting coincidence at the U.N. Despite efforts in public and personal diplomacy to mend relations during his second term, Bush’s tenure on balance presented hard times for transatlantic relations.