We can finally say with confidence that US President Donald Trump will be leaving the White House, albeit reluctantly, on January 20. With his four years in office coming to an end, it is not too early to ask how he will be viewed.
History will judge Trump for being a memorable president: The United States and the world have changed significantly since his tenure. It will also be seen as one of the worst, if not the worst, in history.
(Also read: In the midst of an unprecedented crisis, Biden will take power in the US.).
Admittedly, Trump has accomplished some useful things. Internally, he pushed for policy – a reduction in the excessively high corporate tax rate; the relaxation of some excessively cumbersome regulations – which appears to have contributed to robust economic growth.
In the field of foreign policy, it deserves recognition for pushing US policy in a more sober and critical direction in the face of an increasingly repressive, powerful and assertive China. Also he had rightly offered defensive weapons to Ukraine, since part of that country is under Russian occupation.
Negotiating a new trade pact with Mexico and Canada and then convincing Congress to approve it was a significant achievement, even though the improvement over the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was modest and important parts of the new deal were taken from the text of the much larger Trans-Pacific accord that Trump, with little judgment, rejected.
The United States also played a valuable role in facilitating the normalization of ties between Israel and some of its Arab neighbors, in addition to making no progress on the Palestinian issue.
(Of interest: Biden prepares decrees and prepares an ‘optimistic’ inauguration speech).
But these and other accomplishments are overshadowed by what Trump did wrong. Three
Errors are especially noticeable. The first is the damage it has done to American democracy. The events of January 6, 2021, when a horde of Trump supporters besieged and occupied the United States Capitol, were the culmination of the president’s efforts to demonize against the media, violating established norms, promoting lies, questioning the authority of the courts and rejecting the results of presidential elections that have passed all serious legitimacy tests.
While the world was already going through increasing disarray and the United States’ influence waning, Trump accelerated both trends dramatically.
Trump’s incitement and incitement to illegal activity and violence was the last straw. This is certainly not Trump’s fault, as no one has forced so many Republican officials to follow their lead and try to undermine the legitimacy of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
Those who gave Trump the green light through their political and financial support share responsibility for his continued attack on the restrictions essential to the functioning of any democratic system. Anyway, What sets this incident of North American populism apart from previous episodes is that it was made up from within the Oval Room and not from the outside.
(We advise: The US claims to be ‘disappointed’ by the Cienfuegos case).
The second defining problem is covid-19. The outbreak and subsequent spread of the coronavirus was China’s fault, but Trump’s clumsy and inadequate response explains why 400,000 Americans have died of the disease by the time he leaves office. America’s failed response also caused millions of jobs and businesses to disappear (some permanent), that millions of students were left behind, and that governments and peoples around the world lost respect for the United States.
It was so much that the Trump administration could and should have done to tackle the coronavirus. While he deserves credit for his role in accelerating the development of covid-19 vaccines, this achievement has been partially undermined by the mistake of not organizing efficient distribution. The administration It also failed to deliver consistent reports on the need to wear face masks, nor did it ensure that medical personnel had adequate protective equipment. you offered vital federal support for the development of effective and efficient tests.
The contrast with the relatively successful responses from Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Vietnam and China underscores the fact that a viral outbreak may not have resulted in a pandemic, and certainly not a pandemic of the magnitude found in the United States. States is experienced. . Ironic, Trump apparently feared that prioritizing the fight against Covid-19 would weaken the economy and wipe out his chances of getting reelected.or, when in fact it was the fact that he could not face the challenge that may have been playing against him.
(Further: The story of the first woman to be executed in the US in nearly 7 decades).
His fundamental mistakes include the damage to his country’s democracy, its dealings with Covid-19 and its foreign relations
The third mistake that defines Trump’s legacy was a foreign policy that undermined the United States’ position in the world.. This outcome is partly due to the reasons described above: the attack on democracy and the inability to deal effectively with covid-19.
However, Trump’s own foreign policy also failed. North Korea increased its nuclear arsenal and produced more and better missiles despite Trump’s personal diplomacy with Kim Jong-un. Iran shortened the time it took to develop nuclear weapons following the Trump administration’s unilateral exit from the 2015 Nuclear Pact (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action). Venezuela’s dictatorship is more entrenched, while Russia, Syria and Iran have increased their influence in the Middle East after the United States withdraws its troops. and received support from local partners.
(We suggest: Opposition leader Alexei Navalni, arrested after arriving in Moscow).
More broadly, America’s withdrawal from international agreements and institutions became the hallmark of Trump’s foreign policy, as did his criticism of America’s European and Asian allies. the affable treatment of authoritarian leaders and the ignoring of human rights violations. The net result was a decrease in the American influence on the world stage.
Trump inherited a series of relationships, alliances and institutions that, however imperfect, for 75 years had created a context in which superpower conflicts had been avoided, democracy had expanded and wealth and living standards had increased. By embracing a mix of ‘America First’ nationalism, unilateralism and isolationism, Trump did what he could to change many of these relationships and agreements without replacing them with something better.
(Keep reading: The Challenges Facing the New Head of the White House).
It will be difficult – if not impossible – to repair this damage immediately. Trump will no longer be president, but he will continue to influence the Republican Party and the country. While the world was already going through increasing disarray and while the influence of the United States was already waning, Donald Trump dramatically accelerated both trends. The result is that he hands over a country and a world that are in a much worse state than he inherited. That’s his bleak legacy.
RICHARD HAASS *
© Project Syndicate
NY* Richard Haass is Chair of the Council on Foreign Relations and author of The World: A Brief Introduction (Penguin Press, 2020).