The US President Donald Trump has in more ways than many realised, significantly re-made global politics and economics in his image. This time 10 years ago, not even the most gifted clairvoyant could have predicted a Trump presidency. Trump was not even considered a major contender for the 2016 presidential race by pundits and followers of American politics following the defeat of Mitt Romney- the 2012 Republican nominee by the then incumbent US president- Barack Obama. His declaration to run for the top job in June 2015 was dismissed by many as a publicity stunt. Weeks later, a popular US online medium- Huffington Post- began to place every news of Donald Trump’s campaign on the entertainment section of its website.
One of the toughest assignments for future historians would be to determine how a man approaching his 70th birthday, was never a politician, had never ran or occupied any political office his entire life, does not enjoy the strong backing of any political lobby group or sponsored by an established dynasty managed to overcome all odds to defeat the Clinton-Obama political machinery to emerge US president.
Donald Trump lost all major polls conducted by credible media and polling agencies in the months and weeks leading to the election, was never endorsed by any of the mainstream media in US and never enjoyed a particularly good rapport with the US press and senior journalists. Trump had no friends in the EU, the British government at the time wanted him kept at bay and several key players in the US business community including Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett, Los Angeles Lakers great Magic Johnson, Richard Anderson, Executive Chairman, Delta Air Lines, Inc., James Bell, Former Interim CEO of Boeing; Former Corporate President and CFO of Boeing and several others wanted Hillary Clinton and not Donald Trump as president.
In the Republican Party, things were not so-smooth-sailing for Trump with the party’s 2008 nominee, Vietnam War hero and a veteran of Capitol- John McCain publicly disagreeing with several propositions by the man who would go on to become president.
Understanding why Donald Trump succeeded where veteran politicians in the Republican Party such as John Kerry, Al Gore, Ted Kennedy and several others failed would enable us understand why Trump has gone ahead to become the phenomenon he is today.
Trump triumphed against all odds because he represented what Americans had not seen in their politics in a very long time namely- a stranger to the wheeling and dealing in Washington DC, his candour and a billionaire who does understand the yearnings of ordinary Americans. Donald Trump is not your regular politician and has no interest in being politically correct!
More importantly, the man never had to rely on the conventional media to communicate daily with the American public. When others would elect to speak to Americans through the television cameras, Donald Trump weaponised (politicised) his Twitter handle, making it a handy tool to tell his critics what he thinks of them and inform his admirers what he has in store for them.
Mr Trump operates as the Sole Occupant on Mount Olympus and is not afraid to deploy his extensive personal wealth and the resources of his office to achieve a set objective. Donald Trump is the richest US president ever elected in history. With a net-worth estimated to be in excess of $3 billion.The only other billionaire ever elected into the White House was the 35th President of the States- John F. Kennedy with net-worth put at $1.1 billion.
One thing however makes Trump different: he grew the $413 million which he inherited from his real estate tycoon father- according to New York Times- and turned it into billions. Kennedy on his own part never had to work so hard to grow the wealth he inherited from his billionaire dad, who played big in the US banking and investment sector. If JFK did any extra-work, it was to marry an oil heiress- Jacqueline.
Donald Trump was elected in November 2016 against popular predictions and has ran his presidency in the most unconventional manner. His style and approach to politics is being copied by the current UK Prime Minister- Boris Johnson, Italy Prime Minister- Giuseppe Conte, Marine Le Pen of France and several others.
Donald Trump understands the politics of opportunism, telling people what they want to hear and how they want to hear it, creating a siege mentality amongst supporters and giving followers an enemy to hate.
The US president has also redefined strategic politics- clearly mapping out his stronghold and doing everything to keep them (his base) together. Trump is popular because he says things conventional politicians would not want to say: that immigrants are taking over American jobs and that China is behind the decline in US’s economic powers. He feathers his thoughts further that America belongs to Americans and that, the US should only be concerned in the affairs of other people if only America’s interest is threatened or would be enhanced by such interventions. Trump’s supporters are proud that for once- the country has a president who sees himself as the president of US first and not a benevolent Santa Claus to the rest of the world.
To further tighten his grip on power and give his blood-baying followers something to be excited about, Donald Trump is also pouting war rhetoric. He has long complained that the US has been cheated for ages in global econo-politics and wants to put an end to that.
In January this year, CNBC reported that the president privately told aides he wants to pull US out of NATO. The defence bloc founded by Canada, US and several European countries in 1949 has served to protect member countries from international aggressions and attacks. The body sure would crash without the involvement of its most powerful member.
Well, it turned out that he did but his threats made it possible for US to review the terms of its membership and forced other members to make necessary contribution to keep the group going.
Trump turned attention to China shortly afterwards, accusing the Asian powerhouse of currency manipulation, imposed a $50 billion tariff on Chinese goods coming into the US. He accused his predecessors of being “too soft” on China, alleging that US has often been cheated in trade negotiations with the Chinese. By instructing US Trade Representatives to impose hefty tariffs on Chinese imports, Trump made it clear he wants to reverse decades of trade imbalances between two global economic powerhouses. ‘
Mr Trump has also pulled his country out of the nuclear deal struck with Iran by President Obama. Trump called the deal “an embarrassment for him as a citizen.” He went on to re-impose economic sanctions on the Middle East country and sparked a fresh wave of uncertainty after years of relative stability ushered in by the deal which Obama led other world leaders at the time to sign.
A few days later, tensions rose in the region after a British ship in the straits of Hormuz was seized by Iran. A plan to bomb Iranian territory was cancelled at the last minute following appeals from world leaders held in high regard by Trump.
Trump’s intervention in Middle East has also stirred controversies in Palestine after he moved the US embassy to Jerusalem thereby recognizing the city as the headquarters of the Jewish people. It was a decision many- even in the US criticised- reminding Trump that there was a reason previous US presidents kept postponing the move. Well, Trump has demonstrated that he is a US president like no other.
Also in the Middle East, the tension between Iran and Saudi Arabia caused by the blowing up of Aramco Oil facilities reportedly by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels could provide another opportunity for Mr Trump to flex his muscles on the international scene. Earlier in the week, Trump announced that the US was “locked and loaded” to take action against Iran who the US and Saudi authorities accused of being responsible for the attacked which cut off about 6% of global oil supplies. The days ahead would reveal a lot as analysts continue to watch with bathed breath.
While the situation in the Korean Peninsula remain uncertain with the eccentricities of Kim Jong-un and how tiring his tactics are, many are still predicting that even as Trump continues to reach out to the North Korean leader, he would not hesitate to whip him into line should he attempt any of the ugly games his family has played with world leaders for around 50 years.
Donald Trump has effectively made his mark on the global stage changing the immigration, trade and protectionism narrative for good. He has managed to alter the way leaders communicate with the electorate and has remained unashamed in flaunting the powers that has seen him become the god of war and politics in the new world.
To cement his status however, the 73 year old may need to have a real war under his belt like all his Republican Contemporaries in recent times. Ronald Regan bombed Iran in the 80s, George H. W. Bush lead American forces into the Operation Desert Shield in Iraq, his son while George Bush Jnr led the world on what eventually became a futile search for Saddam Hussein’s weapon of Mass Destruction.
While Trump has proven to be cut from a different cloth, it is unlikely that he would want to end up the only Republican President in recent memory without a real war under his belt. Already, he is fighting a verbal war against the American press, calling them whatever name appeals to him every new day, also, unending verbal fumes continue with democrats, fighting the few dissenting voices in his own party with a microphone and his fingers (twitter), he is taking on China, and Europe on the economic front, the next question is: will Trump eventually deploy the might of the US military on his opponents and who might that be?
Iran?
Time will tell.