Trump Once Again

Donald Trump has won the American presidential election yet again very comfortably. The survey and commentaries and analyses had been expecting a neck-and-neck contest. Considering the circumstances leading to unrest in wake of the result of the last presidential elections, it had thus begun to seem pretty much plausible that, if the vote tally of swing states remained inconclusive, even the final result could take days or even weeks to be announced.

Though the race was predicted as a close one and will even be disputed, all such predictions proved absolutely unfounded. The results were so decisive that the issue was settled by midnight while counting the votes.

With the election of Trump, the debate began with how the winning strategy of the campaign was developed and what effect the newly elected president might have on America and the rest of the world. Even though the presidential race was the sole focus for most of the races, there were three elections: Senate, House of Representatives, and governors of the states. In all races, the Republicans performed excellently, taking a clear majority victory.

All in all, the Republican Party now holds total power over all three parts of the government. Donald Trump is now busy gathering his team and hitting the field to perform the tasks of government, while on the other side, the world, whether it is within America or outside America, is trying to measure the possible changes that are bound to occur in the international order which will appear from this new presidency.

From Pakistan’s mainstream and social media, it looks like the first priority in reaction to Trump’s win is its implication for Pakistani politics. Perhaps it is the house responsibility of PTI’s media team, or it could be more government’s own nervousness coming out, but since election night in America, the debate has mainly been about Trump’s victory and the prospect of PTI founder’s release.

As the PTI supporters are bursting with excitement, the government is found having no help for it.

There are some interesting observations related to Trump’s victory. He is the second president in the history of America who returned to the field and won the election after he lost his second term’s election. Since his loss in the past election and non-acceptance of its results, continuous attacks and a number of legal battles have been facing him. Defiant attitude, unwillingness to accept outcomes, and ability to present “alternative facts” as truth are hallmarks of Trump.

Most traditional media remained against him but Trump withstood the final four years. His ability to resist surprised his right-wing opponents within the party as well as outside the left-wing press. Social media has played a greater role in quicker and more decisive influence than traditional media during the last ten years, especially regarding election propaganda and narratives. Social media has proven to be an important medium with regards to the speed and reach it possesses. In the recent American elections, without a doubt, social media played a role.

What effects will have Trump’s second term on America and the world? To understand this, two perspectives are important. First, the Republican Party has an old right-wing ideology that has included the reduction of the size of government, all means necessary for the corporate growth, slashing taxes for the rich and corporations, and various actions in the sphere of health care and insurance.

Second, Trump, in character and in psyche, is not a typical politician. Though he represents the right-wing Republican agenda, the style of implementing the policies and the worldview of the international order do not resemble traditional Republicans. This difference of personal loyalty, hard-line approach, and a business-like manner in the settlement of issues makes him different from previous heads of America.
On matters of immigration, international trade, and world order, Trump is clear as crystal. He wants to attempt to enact his ideology and the promises he made as soon as possible. With his personality and style, a clash with establishment Republicans and the apparatus is inevitable at some juncture. The landscape remains open for Trump and his party for the next two years. What the team selects during those first hundred days will be pretty very crucial in defining the course of his second term.

So much political, economic, and military change has taken place on the world stage since his first presidency. The world order is being revamped. This is in light of; the war between Russia and Ukraine, Israel-Hamas conflict, European discomfort with trading with the U.S. Chinese rising economic and political influence, resilience of Russia under western sanctions, and new emerging political and economic superpowers of India and the rest of Asia. America’s hegemony is under attack. Trump’s persona and style might be quite traditional and shocking for those acts around the world.

Traditionally, relations between the United States and Pakistan have been based on mutual regional interests. Since the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, Washington’s interest in Islamabad has gone down; meanwhile, the country has intensified its engagements with New Delhi. Its potential to use diplomatic leverage to obtain release for PTI founder will not be missing, but that which is muddled by IMF fetters does not hold the same promise it did for the United States. The coming few days are interesting. As they say, “Keep tuned”-keep listening and watching!