Let’s see how Trump handles the real world
The television star became president on the basis of impractical promises, so it will be interesting to see him try and keep them
After a rough and tumble two-year campaign, the American voters decided that Donald Trump, a reality-TV host, should be their 45th president. Against all odds, Trump has managed to overcome every obstacle through all available means, by hook or by crook. He successfully created the illusion that America was weak and that foreigners were stealing American jobs. He said the most absurd things any normal person, let alone a potential president, could ever imagine. But he got away with it because the real Americans out there in the “Rust Belt” were backing him.
As president come January, Trump will have to match his actions with his campaign pledges. Obviously, more half of what he promised will be impossible to carry out, especially his notions related to foreign countries. The idea of building a wall between Mexico and the US is ridiculous. But his supporters bought in because it showed the seriousness of his immigration policies.
Now he has to adjust and come out with new measures, short of building physical wall as pledged. His plan to expel the estimated 12 million foreign workers from the US sounded good, but in reality it cannot be done since it would undermine the US economy, which relies on low-cost labour.
Beyond the domestic issues, what Trump said about foreign relations was pretty apocalyptic. He just said what came to mind without any well-thought-out plan, without any filtering. He appealed to ordinary people’s concerns and fears over a foreign invasion destroying their security and livelihoods. Muslims must be banned from entering the country, he said. China invented the climate-change myth to hoodwink the West. Such messages sank in very well among his supporters.
In reality, US economic growth and prosperity depends on good relations with its trading partners, especially China and Europe. If the US raises import taxes on foreign products, American consumers will suffer because they’ll have to pay more for what’s domestically available. The free-trade agreements that the US has concluded or leads are actually designed to bolster the US economy. Trump should know all too well how important the foreign market and overseas commercial engagements are to the US.
For the next four years Trump will help lead a very different world, with dramatic changes as never before seen. His victory is an indication that the right-wing politicians with their populist agendas are gaining ground all over the world. Europe is suffering from the same symptoms due to the influx of refugees from Syria and Libya. Unless Trump dramatically adjusts his thinking, he could become the global leader of this movement. Right-wing politicians around the planet were certainly quick to congratulate him on his triumph.
If Trump’s vision of America as a cloistered, protectionist, isolationist republic becomes the reality, other major powers will rise to take its place. In contested areas of the Middle East and elsewhere, the new administration might just not want to pay attention. Trump claims to have more than 200 retired generals ready to help him with matters of security and diplomacy. It remains to be seen how the US will handle foreign conflicts.
Trump has already swept aside global perceptions and expectations of the United States. He still has time during the transition period to do the right thing – to come out with clear, pragmatic and above all practical policies for his country and its dealings with the world. For now, judgement hangs in the balance as we wait to learn of and understand his real intentions.
