It is difficult to really gauge whether Americans in general are already feeling ‘buyer’s remorse’ after they voted convincingly for Trump. They seem to belong to two very different camps; those who think he will lead America to perdition and failure on the world stage, and those who think his spontaneous thought bubbles contain some sort of special wisdom which will transform the country into a proud, working class paradise.
This past week he has confirmed many of his more outrageous opinions, and come up with some new ones. His rhetoric swings between the ramblings of a man teetering on the edge of dementia, to other ‘just shooting the breeze’ conversations. The problem is that he is expected to have a modicum of statecraft, and an understanding of diplomacy, even an idea of the role the US has in international affairs.
If we take some of his strange foreign policy positions then he has been either brave or stupid. If we take his threat to somehow absorb Canada into being the 51st state, then he must be breathing some mixture of low oxygen air.
As an Australian myself, I share a kinship with Canada and her national aspirations. Canada and Australia can be safely described as comfortable within their post-colonial skins, the proud owners of a national health system, a system of checks and balances which avoid some of the more obvious democratic foibles, such as an electoral system which outlaws matters as elemental as gerrymandering, no voter suppression, a sensible approach to the ownership of deadly weapons, and a justice system which actually observes the separation of powers.
We also share a long and, although unequal, alliance with the US. We are part of the Anglosphere, with many shared values and common ideas of decency and responsible statehood. Trump believes he can crash the democratic party, with every nation welcoming him and his soon-to-be rogue nation.
We do not espouse a unilateral exercise of power, nor would we subscribe to the invasion of another sovereign country, because we think it makes the leader look strong. All it does is show a person bereft of respect, and seriousness. Foreign policy is not a game for children; it is for mature persons with judgement.
We, both Canada and Australia, value our immigrants, because we actually know that immigration brings economic success, and cultural diversity. We are both involved in trying to reconcile with the native peoples from whom we took the vast majority of their land, and to provide some redress for past injustices.
The parties in power agree that climate change is actively undermining the future of the human race, and so it is a matter of urgency that we act to mitigate what is already a climate emergency. Many of the changes to our weather can’t be put back into the tube; they are manifestations of what has been only a small rise in global temperatures, but with catastrophic consequences.
Imagine the temperature continuing to rise because of Trump’s insistence that the US “drill, baby, drill” after his inauguration. What happens to Florida and Texas, with their vulnerable coastlines? Do Trump supporters really believe he will protect them from more disastrous floods, like those following Hurricane Debby?
In another example of Trump’s unfitness for office, he is now blaming California’s wildfires on the Democrats, the delta Smelt fish, Governor Newsom, and most recently the Fire Service’s diversity programme. So, the black women who are fighting the bushfires are also the cause.
Seriously, why would any sane and cogent American believe in the powers of this deluded old man? This is the greatest challenge for the Americans under your ‘new king’. Every voter with any brains, worldwide, now thinks that the majority of Americans are, at best ill-informed; at worst unschooled in basic democratic principles, and given to suffering from a sort of ‘cargo cult’ where if you vote for the magical leader, he will magically transform your lives. (See “cargo cult” in Wikipedia.)
What is the use of telling them prices will go up if tariffs are introduced? Prices will also go up if he declares a trade war with China. Essential services and products will cost more if he alienates Canada further. France and Germany have warned him already about his designs on Greenland. Talk about a bull in a china shop.
America’s influence will wane dramatically. Trump could be the tipping point, where the US finally slides down the rankings of serious nations, and becomes more like China and Russia. Power in search of a purpose.
And the most unedifying part of this farce is the conga line of international leaders, business titans, wannabe authoritarians from around the globe, desperate to kiss the ring of a demented person who has no policies, is statistically close to death, and whose constitutional successor wants to coerce American women to have babies for the nation, or be penalised by the state. The Handmaid’s Tale, anybody?
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