‘Make America Democratic Again’

On the eve of marking his second innings’ first year of his second innings, the United States’ mercurial President Donald Trump might have unwittingly united Colombia, Mexico, Venezuela, while drawing Iran toward the Sino-Russian fold, apart from making most nations wake up to the reality of if Venezuela today, who next and when. Trump went on a threatening spree directed against the five Latin American and Asian states, in addition to warning Iran of catastrophe. 

The “Donoroé Doctrine" of the new century — alluding to the 19th-century Monroe Doctrine — has infuriated next-door neighbour Canada, whose prime minister has hit back with a statement far more critical than what the leading EU members issued. Even as he fumes and frets at his claim of having brokered several peace agreements and yet was ignored by the Nobel Peace award committee, independent scholars and opinion makers in the US are calculating the strategic costs the US is headed for. 

If a scribe in another country were to describe Trump in the language American Congressmen and mainstream media have been using for nine years, the local embassy of the United States would, in all probability, take serious umbrage at the audacity and tick off the writer’s name from the invitee list. Many are from “advanced democracies,” dictatorships or somewhere in between. The venerable media rarely touches upon the pains inflicted by the West’s class system but would not hesitate to focus on the caste system in India and the neighbourhood. 

Class systems and caste systems are evils that no civil society would entertain. But even civilised communities have not done enough to end these.  The feudal arrangements created the curse of class categories, while the division of labour deteriorated to the bizarre practice of castes.

Biased dismissal

Americans are in trauma, as so vividly echoed in the “No Kings” protest across the US in October. Millions participated in more than 2,700 rallies in a strong warning that “enough is enough” tone. It is not for nothing that Britain’s Economist magazine last April took consolation in counting the number of days for Trump’s tenure at the White House to end in 2029. That is a way of frustration control.

Markets and profits are the two primary priorities of big powers. Once that is more or less ensured, their cultural outlook and definition of human welfare come into play. But they do not hesitate to trample upon the ideals if their fundamental interests, like economic and military dominance, are at stake. The resultant expediency exposes the hypocrisy in the lofty ideal exponents.

The attitude of “ours is the best and we know what is best for the entire humanity” is what erodes the tunnel view of the long-dominating powers that had favoured centuries for themselves. The tide of change is now swerving from the beaten track. People have learnt to question what they had been told was the truth. Trump was quoted as saying, “We will go in and kill Hamas.” That was clearly to exert pressure on Hamas to accept the truce offer he had brokered. 

Despite Trump boasting of “Big Beautiful Bill”, the US federal government closed down for the country’s longest period in history. It did not earn him any extra points to stem a declining public approval rating. His America First declaration under the Make America Great Again slogan has miles to go at the time of an emerging new global order. Trump has rebuked, humiliated, threatened, shocked and numbed foreign leaders—Europeans, Africans and Asians— at the White House or at press meets. The victims might not be able retaliate immediately and appropriately because prudence demands sobriety and diplomatic discretion. 

He is buttered up as a potent nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize, which he so publicly covets. Arm-twisting and threatening with sanctions might not be defined as the right process of brokering peace, unless the Peace Award Committee defines it otherwise. During his campaign trail, Trump drew enthusiastic nods from Americans unhappy with the country’s costly involvement in West Asian conflicts when he vowed to steer the US away from foreign conflicts. In recent weeks, his approach has swerved to a different direction as claims to territories and natural resources are not his country’s. 

Unintended boon

In next-door Canada, the Liberal Party came from behind to emerge as the largest party and head a coalition team, thanks to the US president’s casual, cavalier attitude aired publicly on several occasions. Trailing distinctly a couple of months before the election, Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese led his party to get reelected with a landslide majority because of the trade concerns Trump triggered through a steep tariff hike. The message is to reject the imposition of a one-sided agenda in the fast-evolving new world order, which has come to be known as a multipolar landscape. 

When Trump ordered home guards to be deployed in various cities, an estimated seven million Americans rallied against Trump across the US in October, chanting “No Kings”. More than 2,700 such rallies were organised in the country to register protest against the president’s “authoritarian” streak. The protestors feared that democratic institutions were being adversely affected and rules were deliberately bent to suit Trump’s latest pursuits.  

Taunting Canada to become the 51st state of the US; talking about annexing Greenland because of its vital resources; drawing the tariff gun at the slightest disappointment; and publicly rebuking foreign leaders are no gestures for a strong positive image, let alone a credible legacy. 

About the attempt at creating a dogged peace broker’s image, the US president has to first convince the American public, the elite and the independent media of tangible points essential for a rich presidential legacy. Trump has three more years to smooth things and earn a credible legacy, even if it might mean turning a new leaf or making an appropriate U-turn. That requires conviction and courage.

(Professor Kharel specialises in political communication.)