Trump’s White House return

Donald Trump returned to the White House as the 47th American President following his inauguration in Washington DC yesterday. The 78-year-old maverick president literally came back from dead after losing a re-election bid to the immediate-past President Joe Biden who was sworn in as the 46th president on January 20, 2021. Trump’s reemergence at the White House was not a stroll in the park. He survived several legal battles including two assassination attempts on his life, the more significant one was on July 13, 2024 in Pennsylvania during a campaign rally. His detractors believed that the incidents were stage-managed not only to shore up his dwindling image and popularity but also win public sympathy.

Watchers of American politics are still at sea about the unexpected return to power of the septuagenarian in view of the upheaval he authored as a result of his defeat to ex-President Biden. Trump did not only reject his loss at the election, but also instigated an insurrection never before witnessed in the annals of politics of the world’s most powerful nation. The entire world watched in disbelief as his rabid supporters invaded the US Capitol, desecrated the building, attacked anyone on sight and left the hallowed place in complete ruins.

That ugly episode ought to have sealed Trump’s political fate under normal circumstances. Besides the violent insurrection that ridiculed American democracy, Trump also became the first former American president to be convicted of felony crimes. He was found guilty of all 34 charges in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through hush money payment to a porn actor who he had an intimate relationship. 

Reacting to the verdict, an angry Trump described it as rigged and disgraceful trial.

“The real verdict is going to be by November 5, 2024 by the people,” Trump declared, insisting the trial was politically motivated. However, the real sentencing was set for July 11, 2024, a few days before the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where the GOP leaders, had remained resolute in their support in the aftermath of the verdict to make him their nominee. That enabled him to escape judgement by the skin of his teeth.

The reality now facing the global community particularly the US neighbours is that the Bull is back to the china shop. 

Trump is particularly disdainful of his Mexican neighbours. Since his first run for the White House in 2016, Trump repeatedly clashed with Mexico over a number of issues, including border security and the imposition of tariffs on imported goods. He vowed to reconstruct or refurbish a wall stretching over 450 miles along borders and make Mexico pay for it. Then, there is a move to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America.This is , a name he said has a “beautiful ring to it”. The Gulf of Mexico is often referred to as the United States’ “Third Coast” due to its coastline across five southeastern states. This is in addition to calling on Panama to return the Panama Canal. America,” a name he said has a “beautiful ring to it.” The Gulf of Mexico is often referred to as the United States’ “Third” The scenario is seen as a wake-up for the global family to forge a common front to resist the rebirth of the Trump Imperial Expansionism.

However, there are some moves by Trump many consider as welcoming. He has promised to end the protracted Russia-Ukraine war within days of returning to the White House. NATO allies are backing the latter with the United States providing massive support. His return to the global stage at the time a ceasefire is being observed in Gaza, it is hoped that he will consolidate the peace process by positively influencing the belligerent Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

But there are also a handful of tall, territorial ambitions on Trump’s 

wish list, some of them sounding infantile or appearing like pipedreams, one of which is his latest suggestion to redraw the map of the Western Hemisphere, repeatedly referring to Canada as the “51st State,”…an ambition which many Canadians have regarded as an illusion. He also demanded that Denmark consider ceding Greenland, to which France and Germany have warned him to perish the thought. 

The international community will also have to contend with his “America First” foreign policy that saw partial or total withdrawal of the US from international organisations and initiatives, even though it has been the fulcrum of its hegemony. It was a move many believe would create a space for its global rival, China, to dance to the centrestage.  

At the domestic front, the planned immigration raids across the US cities and borders are on the card, causing fright and jitters among millions of immigrants. Trump has promised to hunt them down for deportation. He is also back to continue where he left off four years ago with fury and vengeance for those who wronged him, promising to pardon and free the insurrectionists.

Be that as it may, what will remain an enigma in the political trajectory of the US for years to come is how Biden, 82, the oldest president in American history, who unseated Trump in 2016, could not prevent his return to power. A number of factors came to play in the race to the defeat of the Democratic Party. Notable among them was Biden’s late withdrawal from the race, enabling Trump to gain more mileage ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris, who later got the ticket.

The reality the world must come to terms with is that Trump is back to the global stage to continue from where he left off in 2021. His comeback can well be described as old wine in a new skin in terms of formulation and execution of his domestic and foreign policies.