The word ‘infamy’ became popular in the political arena after President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the USA used the word to describe the day the Japanese carried out a surprise attack on the United States Pacific fleet at its naval base at Pearl Harbour in Hawaii on December 7, 1941. This singular event propelled the USA into the Second World War. The country entered the war with its awesome military power and subsequently helped the Allies led by Great Britain to defeat Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler.
The Second World War led to the decline of Europe as the leading political power in the world as the balance of power shifted from Europe to the United States of America. As a result of the war, imperial countries with vast overseas colonies like Great Britain started to lose their colonies in consonance with the agreement in the Atlantic Charter signed by Winston Churchill of Great Britain and Franklin Roosevelt of USA in 1941 before the USA joined the war. The charter stipulated self-determination for every group and country. The USA subsequently became the most powerful and dominating country the world has ever seen.
After the war, the USA tried to lift up war-weary Europe through the Europe Recovery Plan Known as Marshall Plan which operated between 1948 and 1951. In this plan, the USA transferred $13.3 billion ($133billion by 2024 standard) for the economic recovery of European countries. Great Britain received 26%, France 18%, West Germany 11% of this amount. After the war USA also extended its defence umbrella to cover Western Europe through the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) formed in 1948. This organization is an international military alliance of 32 countries, 30 in Europe and two in North America.
Russia another victor in the Second World War, formed another military alliance for Eastern European countries known as the Warsaw Pact, but it was no match to NATO in terms of organisation and power. The Warsaw Pact was dissolved in 1991 and NATO is still waxing strong despite some rumblings from Trump, the president of the USA.
The dependency of Europe on the USA economically and militarily which started after the Second World War was nurtured and encouraged by successive presidents of the USA from Roosevelt to Biden and all past and present European leaders became complacently accustomed to the situation. Many of them have USA military bases in their countries. In politics, situations don’t usually wear a permanent colour as political situations can change quickly and rapidly.
Even in the Bible we read in Exodus 1: 8 “that a new king which did not know Joseph came to power in Egypt.”
Unexpectedly the new president of the USA who is not beholden to the niceties of post-war relationship between Europe and the USA is now calling the shots from the White House. His name is Donald J. Trump, whose second coming to the presidency of the USA more than the first coming in 2016, has thrown the USA and the whole world into economic and political turmoil. Since taking office less than 100 days ago, Donald Trump has left nobody in doubt that his policies both at home and outside would be radically different from those of his predecessors whether Republican or Democrats.
At home, Donald Trump wasted no time to implement his campaign promise to the American electorate that he would get rid of illegal immigrants which the previous Biden administration allowed to be an overwhelming problem. He revived the ancient 1798 Alien Enemies Act which grants the president of the USA sweeping power to order the detention and deportation of people. He has used this law to deport 261 alleged Venezuelan gang members to notorious jail in El Salvador. For his actions on deportation of illegal immigrants, he has refused to heed the restraint actions of judges, telling the judges that he has the mandate of the people for his actions on illegal immigrants. Many illegal immigrants are now in hiding and have stopped going to churches and farms where they can be picked up easily by Homeland Security Officers who are on the prowl looking for illegal immigrants. Visas are withdrawn and people critical of the Trump administration are denied entry to the USA. To many illegal immigrants in the USA as of now, Armageddon has come to the USA.
In addition to his policy to rid the USA of illegal immigrants, Trump has focused his searchlight on drastically reducing government expenditure. He recruited Elon Musk, the richest man in the world for this task and appointed him as head, Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Many Americans have been retrenched and deprived of their livelihood. Government agencies such as those concerned with social security and taxes have been abolished. Elon Musk claimed that he has saved the government billions of dollars by trimming down the government bureaucracy.
Also abolished, is the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) started during the Kennedy era in 1963. This agency has done a lot to help the downtrodden in Africa, Asia and Latin America and has boosted the image of the USA all over the world. Trump’s policy of cutting down government expenses and closing down offices that take care of the American poor have been met with demonstrations in many states in the USA.
Perhaps the most bewildering domestic policy of Donald Trump up till now is his assault on universities in USA. His administration has given stringent conditions to the universities on how to operate. The Trump administration has accused the Universities of anti-Semitism and threatened to withdraw visas for students and staff who are sympathetic to Palestinians and Hamas struggle in Gaza. Meanwhile, some students who took part in pro-Hamas demonstrations during the Gaza war are in detention, facing possible deportation from USA. Trump threatened to cut funding to Ivy League universities like Columbia and Harvard if they do not comply with his wishes of telling universities what to teach, who to appoint as lecturers and the type of students to admit. All these actions are alien to university culture of free speech and academic freedom, which is the norm even in Third World universities. Harvard University, the most prestigious and wealthiest university in the USA has called off the bluff of Donald and has taken his administration to court for his intrusion into university administration. Meanwhile, about 200 presidents of universities and colleges in the USA have written an open letter to condemn Trump’s retrogressive actions against the university system in USA. With his assault on the citadel of learning in the USA, which is renowned all over the world, Trump is certainly taking USA to the road of infamy.
On the international scene, Trump’s policies are no less bizarre. He felt that for a long time the rest of the world has been taking undue advantage of the USA. However, this does not stop him from his craving to acquire Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory controlled by Denmark and to make Canada the 51st state of USA. He also has his eye on the acquisition of Panama Canal because according to him, China was having too much influence in the operation of the Canal. Trump’s first action on the world stage was to tell the European countries in NATO to take more responsibility for their defence. He told the countries to jack up the budgetary allocations for their defence instead of depending too much on the USA. Most countries in Europe, like Germany and Great Britain have seen the handwriting on the wall and they are trying to increase their defence spending.
Again, on the international scene, Donald Trump has imposed punitive tariffs on goods coming from other countries irrespective of their standing with his country. Countries like Great Britain. Canada, South Korea and Japan that are friendly to the USA are not exempted from high tariff imposition. China has been badly targeted by this policy and presently all goods coming from China to the USA would attract a whopping 145% tariff. China has equally retaliated. Many renowned economists in USA and elsewhere had cried out that this Trump’s action would lead to trade war with attendant unpleasant consequences on world economy. The IMF at the just concluded meeting in Washington has voiced similar concern. Presently, the uncertainty about the tariff war engineered by Trump is having negative effect on the stock market not only in the USA but all over the world.
Trump’s policies since he became the President of the USA the second time, although applauded mainly by the white people in that country are no doubt having negative effect on the standing of the USA all over the world. At present, the number of tourists going to USA has decline tremendously. In Europe tourists from the USA especially those in France are trying to hide their identities as of them are claiming to come from Canada according to BBC report. This is a tragedy for the USA which has been a home for oppressed people all over the world and which helped the world to get rid of Nazi tyranny during the Second World War. It is the fear of most people both inside and outside the USA, that the present deluded policies of Trump would lead the great nation of USA to infamy and if this happened the whole world would suffer.
•Prof Lucas writes from Old Bodija, Ibadan.
