The second coming of Trump in America

Amidst great pomp and trenchant triumphalism, Donald John Trump was inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States of America. In attendance at the Capital One Arena, the venue of the event, was a stellar cast of former US presidents, world leaders and statesmen, grandees of the American business and political establishment and a […]

Amidst great pomp and trenchant triumphalism, Donald John Trump was inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States of America. In attendance at the Capital One Arena, the venue of the event, was a stellar cast of former US presidents, world leaders and statesmen, grandees of the American business and political establishment and a host of other important global dignitaries.

The 78-year-old Trump was making a non-consecutive comeback to the presidency following his landslide defeat of Vice President Kamala Harris in the outgone presidency of President Joe Biden at the November 2023 elections.

The run-up to the elections was particularly noted for the bitterness and divisive rhetoric on the core issues agitating Americans and the expectations hanging on the candidates. Trump, representing the Republican Party as he did in his first outing for the presidency, which he eventually won against former American Secretary of State Hilary Clinton in 2017, harped on the issues of immigration, American decline in global affairs, economic competitiveness and social issues like gender, abortion and gun ownership.

Harris, who was the candidate for the ruling Democrats, differed sharply from Trump. She opposed his views on abortion which she said should be a matter of choice, and favoured a curb on gun control. Harris also campaigned on the platform of the fact that immigration and America’s decline in global competitiveness required a more nuanced engagement with both allies and adversaries without necessarily being hostile and aggressive.

That the Americans voted for Trump in such overwhelming numbers indicates that they are in tune with his campaign messages and indeed expect him to implement them as president of the United States of America.

And sure enough, in his inaugural speech, President Trump made some pronouncements that clearly showed this intent. He proclaimed that the United States was going to recognise only two genders, male and female, which struck a blow against the promoters of gay rights and LGBT issues. And within hours of his inauguration, President Trump signed several Executive Orders approving far-reaching curbs on immigration, including cancelling citizenship by birthright to non-Americans. He also approved the withdrawal of the United States from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, among other measures.

Evidently, by his pronouncements and actions, President Trump is bent on implementing the wishes of the American people who voted for him and who are enamoured with his campaign messages. This is the essence of democracy and the rest of the world must respect the choice of the American people as expressed through their votes for President Trump.

But as America has been the leader of the world in many ways, we cannot refrain from commenting on some of the policy directions that President Trump has espoused especially those that have bearing on the rest of the world.

On immigration, while we believe that like every country in the world, America is within its rights to regulate immigration into the country, we also note the fact that America itself is overwhelmingly a country made up of immigrants from its founding.

Except for indigenous Americans, Americans of all backgrounds were from the outset immigrants from other parts of the world. They came variously seeking refuge from persecution and opportunity. Although it must be said that some, like the African Americans were forced into the country as slaves, they nevertheless were not native to the country.

America had thrived on this diversity over the years and even the forebears of Trump himself were immigrants from both Germany and Scotland. Against this background, President Trump’s policies on immigration run contrary to the proclamation in the plaque beneath the Statue of Liberty on Ellis Island New York City ‘’Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore, Send these tempest-tost to me…..’’ It is this proclamation which signifies the importance of immigrants to America that President Trump intends to contradict with his policies on immigration.

There are also concerns about America’s relations with the world under Trump. In Africa, the concern will be on President Trump’s hostility and threats to stop American funding or outright pulling out from global multilateral agencies. Already, he has pulled America out of the World Health Organisation (WHO) which plays a pivotal role in tackling public health issues across the continent.

There are fears that with his well-known antecedent of giving Africa the short shrift, this trend might extend to cutting off or stopping funding to American donor and aid agencies assisting development and humanitarian programmes.

All said, while congratulating President Trump on his inauguration as the 47th president of the United States of America, we urge him to tone down on some of his threats in consideration and interest of humanity to which the world looks to America for leadership.