Against all. Wars, energy, trade, immigration: the US president has already reshaped global rules and balances in his own way.
The thirty days that changed America and are changing the world. In his first month back in the White House, Donald Trump has announced an avalanche of measures, from changes on the international stage to dozens of executive orders on domestic policy. He has thrown out any taboo on negotiations with Russia over the war in Ukraine. He has imposed trade tariffs on allies and rivals.
He has ordered mass deportations of immigrants. He has halted the transition to green energy and denied evidence of climate change. He has fired thousands of public administration employees. In the face of these measures, his presidency has been compared by historians to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, but in reverse: Instead of building great and stable institutions, Trump is the destroyer of rules and agreements. He has taken absolute control of the political system and has shown that he will stop at nothing.
TRADE WAR AND COLLISION WITH EUROPE
In a direct and unprecedented attack, Trump has de facto removed Volodymyr Zelensky as Ukraine’s leader. He has announced new tariffs on trade, turning against Europe. “We’re going to put 25% tariffs on foreign-made cars, on pharmaceuticals, on semiconductors,” he said. Companies have until April 2 to comply. He has also warned that the tariffs will increase further next year.
DONALD TRUMP AS “THE MESSENGER OF GOD”
Donald Trump is convinced that he survived an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania, and that he has a divine mission to fulfill. On his Truth Social network, he has declared that he has the right to absolute executive power. “He who saves his country breaks no law.” This statement is attributed to Napoleon, but in fact comes from American far-right thinkers who support the “unified executive theory.” Ultimately, this could go to the Supreme Court, which is already dominated by a conservative majority, which is increasingly sensitive to Trump’s claims.
ATTACKS
The US president has signed over 100 executive orders and decrees in less than a month. From the most trivial, like lifting the plastic bag ban, to renaming the Gulf of Mexico “America’s Gulf.” Trump has demanded the removal of corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams, not because he considers him innocent, but because he sees him as an ally in the deportation of immigrants. The president has begun mass political retribution, investigating the prosecutors who prosecuted the Congressional raiders on January 6, 2021, and has removed security protection for Joe Biden and Republicans who are not loyal to him, such as Mike Pompeo and John Bolton.
THE “AMERICA FIRST” DOCTRINE AND ECONOMIC NATIONALISM
Trump is implementing an interventionist populism based on American interests. “America comes before everything, including human rights and international law.” In foreign policy, he has signed over 20 executive orders and taken a series of new and radical positions: A peace deal in Ukraine that favors only Putin. Support for far-right forces in Germany. Proposal to turn Gaza into an American-style tourist center, but without the Palestinians. Partial withdrawal from NATO. Withdrawal from multilateral agreements such as the Paris Climate Pact and the World Health Organization.
One of Trump’s most dramatic projects is to destroy American “soft power,” threatening to close down USAID, the humanitarian aid and development agency. USAID has 9000 employees and is one of the main tools of US influence in the world. But Trump’s trade wars are the ones that have had the greatest impact on the world. He has launched economic conflicts with China, Canada, Mexico and Europe. The formula of reciprocal tariffs, which could be approved by early April, would destroy any multilateral trade agreement and economically isolate the US.
IMMIGRATION AS A NATIONAL EMERGENCY
Immigration is Trump’s top priority, identified by the nationalist and populist right as the enemy within. Trump has declared it “a national emergency,” justifying police raids and mass deportations of irregular immigrants. Initially, the deportations began with those who had committed crimes, but then expanded to people who had lived in the US for years, worked and paid taxes, but did not have proper documents. Until the end of January, about 900 people were being deported every day, but the number fell to 600 by mid-February, causing the president’s displeasure.
THE FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE AND CIVIL RIGHTS
But immigration is not the only national emergency. Trump has approved special procedures for the energy sector, to accelerate production from fossil fuels, regardless of the greenhouse effect. He has destroyed some civil rights that were considered acquired, canceling federal programs for diversity, equality and inclusion with seven presidential orders, and has launched government investigations into several large companies, forcing them to withdraw from social inclusion policies.
DRASTIC REFORM IN THE FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION
Trump has launched a sweeping government overhaul, with over 15 executive orders. The central figure in this overhaul is Elon Musk, who heads the Department of Efficiency (Doge). Musk has promised $2 trillion in savings, but to achieve this he has begun cutting 200,000 federal employees, out of the current 2.3 million employees. Some of the cuts have been so rapid and uncontrolled that even Musk has been forced to urgently rehire some employees, such as those who managed nuclear weapons at the Department of Energy. The new American right, with its radical approach, could lead to the elimination of entire ministries and agencies, including the Department of Education, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which protects citizens from financial abuse.
WHAT AHEAD OF AMERICA AND THE WORLD?
If Trump’s first 30 days have sent a clear message at home and abroad, the remaining 47 months of his term will show whether he will truly be the “anti-Roosevelt.” America and the world have already changed, but it remains to be seen what mark Trump will leave on American democracy and international balances.
