America takes a Trump

On Monday this week, the world began to change in ways that are not easy to decipher. What is really intriguing is that it is all because of a change of government, which should be a matter of routine, in just one country.

But that country is the United States of America, the richest and the most powerful in the world. And the person who was sworn in as the president of the country is Donald Trump of the Republican Party. He was first elected in 2016, causing a great upset. There was a major element of surprise in that victory.

This time, he has come marching in as a conqueror. That this entire process is democratic, with the US professing to lead the free world, is another enigmatic manifestation of the fact that a person of such contentious and divisive credentials is elected the most powerful leader of the world. What does this say about the validity of a democratic dispensation, the state of affairs in the US and the times in which we live?

There is, of course, a great sense of drama and a deadly dread in what was launched in Washington DC on Monday. It is interesting how different experts and analysts are making their interpretations. The heart of the matter is that conservative, even far right, elements have prevailed in America. It is the kind of change that has significant social and political implications.

In fact, Trump’s second administration made an astounding impact on the very first day when scores of executive orders were singed — just as Trump had promised. 

"I think we’re going to do things that people should be shocked at," he declared on his second day in office. One observer said that this was one of the few true things he has said this week.

Giving some early figures of arrest of migrants and their deportation, Trump’s press secretary said on Thursday: "The largest [mass] deportation operation in history is well under way. Promises made. Promises kept".

In addition to actions taken, decisions made and orders passed, there were some images that spoke louder in the context of America’s new sense of direction. There was Trump dancing, though awkwardly, with a sword in his hand. But more meaningful was the salute made during the inauguration by Elon Musk, Trump’s billionaire collaborator.

Some said that it was an unambiguous Nazi salute, a reflection of his stated affection for the far right, including in some European countries. But Musk’s supporters claimed that he was inspired by the Roman style of greeting as adopted by Benito Mussolini. Ah, isn’t there too a hint of fascism?

One important executive order of the first day was the pardon for hundreds of rioters and planners of the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. It was an exceptionally bloody encounter between the Trump loyalists and the police. Its coverage revealed scenes that would be unimaginable in a functioning democracy.

Right-wing observers have noted that in the first week of the new administration, the full-scale assault by the conservative movement on the liberal domination of the nation’s culture "has begun to deliver victories".

This means that the leftward tilt of academia, the literary world and the press is under serious threat. The cultural ground in suddenly shifting to the right. I have read reports about Trump’s plans to crush the academic left.

One measure of this is that the Trump administration has banned diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming in the federal government. Employees in the DEI programme were ordered to be put on leave by Wednesday evening.

How do critics of Trump look at these developments? Historian Yuval Noah Harari said in one interview: "American people have made a very big gamble, a very big risk by giving so much power to Trump". He said that at the heart of Trump’s populism, there is a distrust of humanity — a distrust of human beings.

Before the inauguration, columnist David Brooks wrote: "We live in a soap opera country. We live in a social media/cable TV country. In our culture, you don’t want to focus on boring policy questions; you engage in the kind of endless culture war that gets voters riled up."

Democratic leader Bernie Sanders, commenting on Trump’s inauguration speech, said that what Trump did not say was more important. He specifically listed three American crises that Trump had not said a word about. Bernie mentioned health, housing and climate change. The plight of the working families is totally being ignored. This is what happens in an oligarchic society. In a 2010 speech he had said: "We are rapidly moving toward a nation of the rich, by the rich and for the rich".

Finally, there is this case of Nicholas Kristof, a leading columnist of The New York Times who often writes about social development and the human condition. Around the beginning of each year, he customarily writes a column about how we just had "the best year ever" in history. He was asked at the beginning of 2025: Where is your 'best year ever' column?

"To be honest, I didn’t have the heart to write it", he said. What made him sad were tragedies like the state of the children in Gaza and the famine in Sudan. "And then a felon I consider unstable and a threat to democracy is about to move into the While House." In spite of this, he did make an attempt to say that "even this year is the best time ever to be alive".

Kristof usually highlights advances made by science and technology and a reduction in poverty on a global level. The idea is that the mankind is moving ahead. But wouldn’t developments like the rise of a person like Trump to become the most powerful person in the world and a general tilt towards the right in many countries be a setback? Is an anti-democratic sentiment growing all around?

Think about it. And keep watching what Trump is doing.

The writer is a senior journalist. He can be reached at: [email protected]

Disclaimer: The viewpoints expressed in this piece are the writer's own and don't necessarily reflect Geo.tv's editorial policy.

Originally published in The News