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He\u2019s going to take over Gaza and oust the Palestinians, sending them to Jordan and Egypt, so that he can build a Middle Eastern \u201cRiviera.\u201d He\u2019s going to wrest Greenland from Denmark and annex it. He\u2019s going to give America back the Panama Canal. He\u2019s going to turn Canada into the 51st state and he\u2019s going to trade rare earth minerals from Ukraine in exchange for US support against Russia.<\/p>\n
If we take US President Donald Trump\u2019s outrageous proclamations seriously, what we see is America\u2019s sudden transformation from the world\u2019s ambassador for liberal democracy to an imperialist power determined to have its way over others and to \u201cmake America great again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump appears prepared to seize control of the American state, to force all the branches of power into submission, toss democratic institutions into the fire, turn his back on an America of reconciliation and unity, and replace it with an America driven by transactional relationships and self-interest.<\/p>\n
It is too soon to say whether these threats are part of a long-term strategy or whether they are designed to strengthen Trump\u2019s bargaining position vis-a-vis his domestic and international rivals by exaggerating his intentions.<\/p>\n
If he does go through with everything he\u2019s promised \u2013 such as deporting 15 million migrants from the country or slapping Chinese imports with huge tariffs \u2013 not only will American companies find themselves short of hands, but the price of every Chinese product sold in America will go up, making the economically vulnerable citizens who voted for him even poorer.<\/p>\n
And if he goes through with harebrained schemes like evicting Palestinians from their homes to create a new Atlantic City in Gaza, all he will accomplish is to turn the entire Middle East and the Western world (with the exception of Israel) against him and to undermine the United States\u2019 international standing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This is why there are those who are less pessimistic about Trump\u2019s second presidency. They believe that the new president fits the bill for what the US ambassador to Athens in the 1980s, Monty Stearns, used to say about Andreas Papandreou: \u201cDon\u2019t listen to what he says; look at what he does,\u201d he advised the State Department.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n