Since winning last month’s election, Trump has been much more vocal than outgoing President Joe Biden. It would be too easy to confuse him with the current president. He has taken control of future foreign policy, addressing world leaders on a trip to Paris as tech titans flock to meet him
By CNN
Donald Trump is having the time of his life.
“In this term, everybody wants to be my friend,” the US president-elect said at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Monday, enjoying an outpouring of respect from foreign leaders, corporate chief executives and others, as he prepares for his second term.
Since winning last month’s election, Trump has been much more vocal than Joe Biden, and it would be easy to confuse him with the current president. He has taken control of future foreign policy, addressing world leaders on a trip to Paris as tech titans flock to meet him.
He already has the power. The only thing missing is the constitutional authority given by the oath he will take on January 20.
“In the first term, everyone was fighting me”, said Trump in his press conference.
“The biggest difference is that people want to have a good time with me this time,” he added.
The question is how long the good times will last when Trump emerges from his post-victory “bubble” and returns to a divided nation, beset by problems and a dangerous world where he is deeply disliked.
But for now, Trump can dream.
“This will be the most exciting and successful period of reform and renaissance in all of American history, perhaps even global history. The Golden Age of America, I call it. It has started”, he said.
Trump has never looked so relaxed or happy when he was charged with the power of the presidency. And it’s certain that once he returns to the Oval Office desk, his burdens will be much heavier than they are now.
He is living the best life ever, further enjoying the thrill of victory and the sense of vindication over revenge for what he sees as a fraudulent loss in the 2020 election. He didn’t win four years ago, but this year he won the popular vote and the Electoral College.
So far, it seems most Americans approve. A CNN/SSRS poll released last week found that 54% of respondents expect Trump to do a good job returning to the White House, and 55% approve of how he is handling his transition. until now. This is heady territory for the most polarizing politician of modern times.
TRUMP’S UNIQUE CHANCE
Trump is experiencing a chance that only one president in history, Grover Cleveland, has known: to start his second term all over again. As the second president in US history to win a non-consecutive term, he can learn from the mistakes of his first presidency and start over with a new team and plan. One reason most second terms are difficult is that sitting presidents can never escape the consequences of their first-term decisions, dramas, and scandals.
Still, Trump has had four years out of office to identify a team that would satisfy his wild impulses more than the generals, Washington insiders and establishment Republicans who tried to limit him in the first move.
Aside from the loss of Matt Gaetz, his first choice for attorney general, things could hardly have gone better so far. The richest man in the world, Elon Musk, is his new friend. Most of his provocative cabinet picks are expected to be confirmed by moderate Republican senators. Tech industry executives, meanwhile, are rushing to meet him at his Mar-a-Lago villa in Florida and fill the coffers of his inaugural account.
This is one of many signs that while Trump will be a man with little power and limited terms, his power at the start of his second presidency will be stretched and potentially unchecked because Republicans hold a monopoly on Congress and due to a Supreme Court ruling that granted presidents a substantial measure of immunity for official acts in office. (Except for the ruling by the Manhattan judge who presided over the panel that ruled on Trump’s conviction in the so-called “hush money” case, which ruled that he was not entitled to presidential immunity in the case. However, prosecutors have accepted that he will not be punished while he is in office).
Trump’s current performance can also be explained by comparing it to his first term. By early 2017, he was already mired in claims that his victory was tainted by Russian election meddling. But in November of this year, Trump didn’t just win the presidency. Resuming presidential power gives him the authority to dismiss a series of legal cases active against him that threatened his political career and his freedom.
DIFFICULT DECISIONS ARE EXPECTED
Despite all that, Trump’s departure from reality will not last forever.
Once in office, any decision he makes will have a backlash that risks affecting his political capital and rekindling public skepticism about a president who has historically been a highly divisive figure.
If Trump fails to effectively deliver on his campaign promises to lower prices, create historic prosperity and take control of the border, he could soon see his approval ratings plummet.
There are already troubling signs for Trump supporters. He told the magazine “Time” in an interview published last week that although he would like to reduce the cost of food products “it is difficult to reduce them after they grow”.
“You know, it’s very difficult”, he said.
Meanwhile, on Monday, Trump warned that after vowing to end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours if elected president, the reality could be much more difficult.
“I think the Middle East will be in a good position. I think that in fact the Russia-Ukraine situation will be more difficult”, said Trump.
Trump’s comment reflects not only an almost comical underestimation of the dangers lurking in the Middle East but also a lack of influence over his friend, President Vladimir Putin, at a time when the battlefield is in Russia’s favor.
And while breaking his promises could hurt Trump, he could be hurt even more if he actually follows through on promises to shock Washington, the country and the world, as the ensuing waves of disruption could cause social and economic shockwaves.
For example, Trump’s planned mass deportation operation could very easily backfire if Americans witness scenes of human misery, if immigrant families are separated, or if enforcement slows down agricultural production that means buyers can’t get their favorite fruits and vegetables.
Trump’s tariff threats against Canada, Mexico and other nations could lead him to confront immigrants and demand a better deal for workers.
Trump’s promise to pardon jailed supporters of the Jan. 6, 2021 mob attack on the US Capitol once in office could also prove highly unpopular.
And all of this doesn’t take into account the factional warfare within Trump’s team and his temper outbursts that dogged his first term and limited his effectiveness as commander-in-chief. It seems unlikely, as the president-elect speculated at his press conference in Florida, that “my personality has changed.”
But Trump also has to make the nation his own in times of crisis. If moderate voters begin to sense that he is inclined to punish political enemies or pursue a personal agenda, the appeal that helped him win elections could disappear.
Even during Trump’s press conference on Monday, it was noted that the crises and difficult decisions that he mentioned during the election campaign began to materialize.
A reporter raised the issue of Iran accelerating uranium enrichment. This could present, at some point in the future, a president who is determined to avoid new wars, or be the commander-in-chief who allows the Islamic Republic to have a nuclear bomb.
“It’s a great question. Why should I say that?” was Trump’s response.
The president-elect has repeated his warning several times that the war in Ukraine must end. But he has shown no sign of having any ideas, as he lamented the horrific damage caused to Ukrainian cities, as well as the turmoil in the Middle East caused by Hamas’ attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023.
“What a shame. It should never have happened. It would never have happened. If I were president, that war would never have happened,” said Trump.
A more sinister side to Trump, fueling fears among opponents that he will try to suppress democracy and political freedom, has also emerged.
The president-elect’s lengthy press conference was filled with lies, conspiracy theories and blatantly false facts like never before.
Trump has said he plans to sue the Des Moines Register newspaper over its final poll of Iowa voters that showed him ahead of Kamala Harris, which he claimed was a case of election meddling.
He has said he will also take action against CBS’s “60 Minutes” because of his displeasure with the way an interview with Harris was presented.
If a president can influence a media organization’s voting results or its editorial choices, basic rights long taken for granted will come under attack in a second term.
For now, though, Trump is mostly fixated on his victory and the adulation it’s fueling. He said that over 100 world leaders called him to congratulate him “not only for the elections, but the greatness of the elections and the extent of the victory”.
“I have spoken with officials from over 100 countries. You won’t believe how many countries there are,” said Trump.
