US PRESIDENT Donald Trump’s presidency was among the biggest game changers to global politics in recent history, not only because of his promises (i.e. less immigration and fewer military interventions) but also because of what he inspired. He inspired a renewed form of nationalism in the United States as well as in other parts of the world. Such nationalism was conflated by certain groups with fascism and racism and various other isms, but three years after the 2016 election, such nationalistic sentiments remain.
The same cannot be said about Trump’s presidency. Trump had promised a lot of things to his voters, and although he had delivered on some of them, he has failed on many others. After two years, Trump has barely built a wall, has failed to address mass immigration into America, and has not acted on tech platform censorship, all of which are key issues for his voters. His failure to deliver what he promised has demoralized many in his base, and may even endanger his chances at reelection in 2020.
Trump’s failure to meet his campaign promises has divided his supporters, splitting them into two camps; with one side still supporting the President and the other promptly ‘getting off the Trump Train.’ However, regardless of what his supporters or ex-supporters think, it’s clear that Trump’s inaction (or indeed reversal) on many of his promises is causing stress to the American political system.
Much of this stress is due to the disparity between what Trump says or tweets, and what he actually does policy-wise. I even wrote a few articles about Trump’s tweets and rhetoric, believing that they would translate into policy. I was wrong, and so were many of Trump’s own supporters.
Trump proved us wrong by failing to deliver on what he promised. He can still turn things around, but it’s getting harder and harder for him to do so. His staff is partly to blame for this state of affairs, but as President, he has no excuses. Now, as 2020 draws near, the political situation in the US feels very unstable. This is the tragedy of Trump.
He became President because of big promises, big promises and the paradigm breaking enthusiasm of his supporters. If he cannot fulfill the promises that were laid down in 2016 then all of that energy and enthusiasm would be for naught, and that is the tragedy of Trump: To aim for something great only to fall short.
However things turn out for Trump, though, the populist forces that have propelled him to the US Presidency will remain. These are the same forces that drove Orban, Salvini, Erdogan and Duterte to power, and they are only likely to grow in the future. They are certainly growing in Europe and other parts of the world.
If Trump is to restore the enthusiasm of his supporters, not only will he need to tap into those forces again, he will also need to prove his character by delivering on his promises./PN
