FOLLOWING Donald Trump’s inauguration, John Harris, the founding editor and editor-in-chief of Politico – an American digital newspaper reporting on politics on both sides of the Atlantic owned by Axel Springer, a German news publisher and media company – had this comment on the 47th US president: “But the second occasion of Trump taking the oath of office also put him in an entirely new light. For the first time, he is holding power under circumstances in which reasonable people cannot deny a basic fact: He is the greatest American figure of his era.”
Trump appears to have liked this obsequious and flattering judgement so much that it provided the lead for his opening lines in his first speech to world leaders gathered at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Jan 23: “This has been a truly historic week in the United States. Three days ago, I took the oath of office, and we began the golden age of America.
“The recent presidential election was won by millions of votes. It was a massive mandate from the American people that hadn’t been seen in many years. And some of the political pundits, even some of my so-called enemies, said it was the most consequential election victory in 129 years. That’s quite nice.
“Our country will soon be stronger, wealthier and more united than ever before, and the entire planet will be more peaceful and prosperous as a result of what we’re doing and going to do.
“My administration is acting with unprecedented speed to fix the disasters we’ve inherited from a totally inept group of people and to solve every single crisis facing our country.”
Fulfilling election promises
For now, his domestic priorities relate to electoral promises made during his campaign.
They include:
Making the US safe through securing the border with Mexico and Canada; enhanced screening and deportation of aliens; redefining birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants; and related policies counter to those of the Joe Biden administration.
Draining the swamp in the federal bureaucracy and dismantling the American deep state. Objectives in what has been described as a purge of the public service workforce include bringing efficiency, higher productivity and ideological alignment with Trump’s Maga (Make America Great Again) and merit manifesto through the removal of diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility employees and programmes.
Implementation of new energy, environment and climate change policies aimed at moving away from American and global climate action agreed to by the Biden administration; the ramping up of domestic oil and gas production (Trump’s clarion call to “drill, baby drill”); and the suspension of grants, contracts and financial incentives provided to clean energy programmes such as electric vehicles, wind turbines and solar panels.
Bringing back American values related to family, religion (Christian), traditional gender ideology and whatever is deemed necessary to restore the nation’s sense of exceptionalism and superiority.
Public approval of Trump 2.0
For now, there has been little or no resistance to the small mountain of executive actions issued by Trump’s administration that, according to Democrat opponents, are not only challenging the American political and cultural order. They are also upending the established constitutional system of checks and balances.
With a Republican majority in the Senate and House of Representatives secure, and the Democrats leaderless, dispirited and in disarray, Trump has begun to successfully reshape the American order.
What is significant is that his actions on the domestic front are supported by a majority of Americans.
According to a CBS News/YouGov poll conducted in early February, 53% of respondents approve of the job he is doing in his first month at office. This is the highest approval rating in Trump’s two terms in office. The results of this and similar ongoing polls will undoubtedly embolden Trump and the Republicans in further redefining and reshaping the political, economic and cultural landscape of the US according to Trump’s vision.
Analysts poring over the polling numbers and assessing public response to the policy changes have noted that US presidents enjoy a honeymoon period following their inauguration.
Whether Trump’s approval rating will continue to hold up and he can continue with his grip on power to advance his populist Maga programmes will depend to a large measure on the economy and whether the American public can benefit from his promises of a wealthier and more prosperous nation through “the largest tax cuts in the history of our country” and his tariff policy directed against every country that trades with the US.
In the same poll that provided his high approval rating, two-thirds of respondents said his administration had not focused enough on lowering prices. This included half of the Republicans surveyed.
The concern of ordinary Americans with rising consumer prices, unmet health and housing issues, and simply meeting everyday needs is a challenge that cannot be dispelled with rhetoric, executive orders or “unprecedented speed” tariffs. Neither can it be met through looking for solutions outside the US.
Rule of law
Trump has consistently maintained that “tariff is the most beautiful word” in his dictionary. However, most economists in the US and the rest of the world see it as not only the wrong answer for what needs reform in the US.
They also regard it as a double-edged sword which will raise the inflation rate and cost of living for Americans and disrupt the global market negatively.
Trump himself has conceded that Americans will bear “some pain” from any tariff war but that the pain will be worth the gain in manufacturing jobs returning to the US.
Away from the US and global economy, the “reciprocal” tariff war that Trump is unleashing and committed to will have consequences for the larger global order and rule of law that G7 and allies of the US have espoused, and which had the US as its principal proponent and upholder.
The ending of the myth that we have an international system where countries interact and resolve disputes primarily through established legal frameworks and institutions, with no single power dictating actions, fostering stability and predictability in international relations may perhaps be the most consequential outcome of Trump’s presidency.
Lim Teck Ghee’s Another Take is aimed at demystifying social orthodoxy. Comments: letters@thesundaily.com
