Tag: Trump

Africa was missing on the radar last Monday as President Donald Trump took the oath of office that heralded his return to the White House. Neither in his guest list nor in his inaugural speech and other speeches shortly after did the continent get any attention. It is only hoped he would come round to picking interest in the axis after he settles into office for his second term.

Trump broke with tradition for his re-investiture to the United States presidency by opting for a coronation-style event. Presidential inaugurations in the US used to be a domestic affair: the president and vice-president took their oaths with American officials, past presidents and other local dignitaries present on the steps of the US Capitol building. The public watched from surrounding grounds. Inaugural speeches were typically saved for when the presidents arrived in the White House. But the event last Monday featured on-site inauguration address and was an international affair witnessed by foreign dignitaries invited by the incoming president.

Before now, foreign leaders usually did not attend US presidential inaugurations; rather, diplomats such as country ambassadors to America or foreign ministers acted as representatives. For his inauguration, however, Trump invited close to a dozen world leaders – most of them conservative and right wing. Not all were America’s friends, though, because he also invited few rivals. A notable rival-invitee was Chinese President Xi Jinping, who when served the invitation last December made clear he would not personally attend but would rather be represented.

Other invitees included Argentinian President Javier Milei, a far-right politician and friend of Trump who the American leader once hailed as someone who could “make Argentina great again” – an obvious reprise of his own mantra, “Make America Great Again (MAGA).” Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of the far-right Brothers of Italy party was invited; and so was Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a populist politician and close Trump ally who, however, didn’t make the inauguration. Neither did former Brazilian leader Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right politician nicknamed ‘Trump of the Tropics,’ who although was invited could not attend because he is banned from travelling out of his country, with his passport confiscated by Brazil’s supreme court amid his investigation for alleged attempts to overturn results of the 2022 Brazilian election that he lost. Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa and his El Salvador counterpart, Nayib Bukele, were also invited.

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Trump snubbed notable world leaders, though, including those of traditional allies of America. United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer was not invited whereas far-right British politician Nigel Farage of the Reform UK party was. Many of Europe’s leaders and member-countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) with largely centrist governments were ignored. German President Olaf Scholz did not get an invite; a courtesy extended to Alice Weidel, leader of far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. Neither was French President Emmanuel Macron invited even though he is believed to be pally with Trump. Rather, French far-right politician Eric Zemmour of Reconquest party got extended that courtesy.

Also prominent on the invitation snub-list were African leaders, none of whom Trump invited for his big day. The only attention Nigeria got, for instance, was in the invitation of two high-profile clerics from this country to events connected with the inauguration, which was perceived as underscoring ties between Christian evangelicals and the new US administration. Some analysts argued that Trump might be aiming at leveraging his popularity among Christians as an alternative way of exerting his influence on Africa, in preference to the more conventional channels of the continent’s political leaders. This remains to be seen.

Deeper Life Bible Church founder, Pastor William Kumuyi, and notable gospel artiste, Pastor Nathaniel Bassey, featured at side events marking the US presidential inauguration. Reports said Kumuyi was invited to the oath-taking ceremony proper, but he was unable to attend because of harsh weather that necessitated moving the event indoors where room was limited. He, however, featured at a prayer service organised by an evangelical group for the new president. His invitation to the inauguration was unusual, considering that African heads of state were not on the guest list. For his part, Bassey performed as the only African invitee at the presidential inaugural prayer breakfast, which was a faith-based event held ahead of the swearing-in on Monday. It was not part of the official inauguration activities, though, and the new president did not attend.

Trump took the oath as the 47th US president. He overcame two first term impeachments, post-tenure criminal indictments and a couple of assassination attempts to take on a second term. An Arctic blast outdoors rewrote the particulars of the day and compelled moving the inauguration ceremonies indoors to the Capitol Rotunda. It was reportedly the first time such was happening in 40 years.

The new US leader came into office with a bullish zeal for unilateralism with his “America First” doctrine in a multilateral world order. In his inauguration address, he pledged a “golden age” for America and lit into the outgoing Joe Biden administration for allegedly leading the country downhill. “From this day forward, our country will flourish. We will be the envy of every nation and we will not allow ourselves to be taken advantage of any longer,” Trump said. He laid out an ultra-nationalist vision of the future that involves expansion of US territory. He also announced, among other things, plans to halt immigration into his country while weeding out immigrants already in-country but not properly documented. The vibes Trump exuded was unabashedly xenophobic, and in his worldview Africa did not receive a mention or get factored into potential spheres of American interest.

On the heels of his inauguration speech, the president signed a slew of executive orders peeling back the legacy of his immediate predecessor and withdrawing his country from multilateral commitments. Of interest here are a few. One was his executive order seeking to revoke birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants. Birthright citizenship is protected by the 14th Amendment and the executive order was blocked later last week by a US federal judge. The judge held the order “blatantly unconstitutional” and gave an emergency injunction halting its implementation for 14 days while more briefings are made to the court on the legal challenge.

Trump also signed an executive order to, for a second time, withdraw the US from the Paris Climate Accord. Nigeria is a signatory to that accord, which is potentiated to align financial flows on climate change issues in Africa and should benefit countries on the continent by increasing access to global and domestic investments for low-carbon assets. It is also potentiated to help bridge infrastructure gap across Africa sustainably through development of climate-resilient infrastructure.

There was also the executive order to remove the US from the World Health Organization (WHO). “World Health ripped us off, everybody rips off the United States. It’s not going to happen anymore,”  Trump said as he signed the order. America has been the biggest contributor to WHO and its  withdrawal would dramatically cut funding from the global public health body from which African countries get strong support for disease control and prevention, universal health coverage and immunisation supplementation.

Delivering a virtual address to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, later last week, the American leader reaffirmed his country’s new unilateralism. He said in its new “golden age,” the US would pursue its singular national interests exclusively. He referred to America several times as a “sovereign” nation – a MAGA code for the US acting alone and not through international organisations that Washington helped to establish after World War II to make the world safe for all and promote prosperity for all. Trump argued that this is fair enough because “many things have been unfair for many years to the United States.” And America is so powerful and resource rich that it can do just fine on its own anyway. He said of Canada, for instance: “We don’t need them to make our cars… We don’t need their lumber because we have our own forests, etcetera, etcetera. We don’t need their oil and gas, we have more than anybody.”

In this new Trump era, Africa had better wake up to the smell of the coffee. America has been the resource spine for many international bodies from which countries on the continent get support. Now, the American leader says the party is over except for where his country gets benefitted first; otherwise, everybody else should step up to the plate. Perhaps Trump is good for Africa after all. The donor-dependent mindset that has retarded the continent will in him find brutal cure through neglect.

•Please join me on kayodeidowu.blogspot.be for conversation.

• By Karlyn Bowman

In an interview in October 2024, Donald Trump mused, “To me, the most beautiful word in the dictionary is tariff. And it’s my favorite word. It needs a public relations firm to help it.” He is right about needing a PR firm. Trump will have to convince Americans that prices won’t go up under his tariff regime, and that immediate or phased-in tariffs will be good for the economy and for US interests globally. In each of these areas, polls suggest he has work to do. But polls also show that Trump is on firm ground in two areas: historical support for mechanisms such as tariffs to protect the livelihoods of American workers and companies, and deep concern about unfair trade practices from other countries, particularly China.

Fifty years ago, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs began exploring views about trade and tariffs in regular surveys on foreign policy attitudes. Their questionnaires have changed over time, but the emphasis Americans place “protecting the jobs of American workers” as a very important foreign policy goal has been striking. In survey after survey, this response ranked near the top of a long list of goals, occasionally rivaling objectives such as protecting America from a terrorist attack. In a 2019 essay on Trump’s trade policies, Gallup’s Lydia Saad underscored the point, noting that promoting fair trade policies was a goal “on a par with preserving national security” and ranked higher than defending allies’ security or working with the UN. 

Even as globalization gained favor in the 1990s after the fall of the Soviet Union, Americans continued to believe tariffs were necessary. Nearly half, 49 percent, favored them in a 1998 Council poll, while 34 percent supported a free trading environment. In 2004, when the Council asked whether trade was good for different entities, solid majorities said trade was good for consumers like them (73 percent) and for American companies (59 percent), but only 38 percent said the same for job creation and 31 percent for American job security. Those views have persisted.

Americans have also long been troubled by unfair trade practices. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Americans favored a variety of actions to address what they saw as unfair trading practices by Japan. China was rarely mentioned then, but for more than 30 years now, majorities or strong pluralities of Americans have told pollsters that China cheats. That sentiment is strong today. In an extensive exploration of trade attitudes in 2024, CATO found that 59 percent believed China engages in unfair trading practices with the US (15 percent said they were fair). Only 26 percent said Mexico’s trading practices were unfair, and 10 percent gave that response about Canada.

Still, Trump has much work to do. Today Americans don’t see international trade as a top problem. In a new Fox News poll, 1 percent of registered voters volunteered that imposing tariffs should be Trump’s top priority (the top responses were immigration and the economy, both at 13 percent).

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In the new Harvard CAPS/Harris polls, 52 percent of registered voters favored imposing tariffs on China to aid US manufacturing, but 48 percent were opposed. Partisan differences drove the results, with just 34 percent of Democrats but 74 percent of Republicans in support. In the poll, 40 percent, supported new tariffs on Canada and Mexico (24 percent support among Democrats, 59 percent among Republicans). And in a new AP/NORC poll, only 29 percent favored a tariff on all imports, while 46 percent were opposed.

Before NAFTA, partisan differences on most trade issues weren’t significant. Today, attitudes are determined by whether you are on the red or blue team. In 2004, for example, partisans had similar views about whether trade was good for consumers, the economy, American companies, and American workers. By 2016, however, there were strong partisan divisions on all four. These divisions will make Trump’s sales pitch for broad tariffs hard.  

Fears about higher prices are widespread. Seventy-five percent in the CATO poll said they were concerned about rising prices because of tariffs. In a February 2024 YouGov deep dive into trade attitudes, 61 percent said tariffs on imported good increases prices; only 23 percent said it did not. In the new Fox poll, 32 percent said imposing tariffs on imports helps the economy, while 50 percent said it hurts. Responses were virtually identical, 31 percent and 48 percent, respectively, in a new NPR/PBSNewsHour/Marist poll. In his inaugural address, the President said he would “overhaul our trade system to protect American workers and families.” There is considerable uncertainty about how far Trump will go to impose tariffs, although the president has suggested that he could impose a 25 percent tariff on imported goods from Mexico and Canada very soon. Public objections to actions that are too broad or could raise prices suggest his public relations firm has a big task ahead.

• This article was originally published in www.aei.org