Daily Times

Trump’s victory in the US presidential elections has heralded a new era of nationalism that is, quite clearly, xenophobic. The US under Trump is scared and, thus, does not want people from certain parts of the world to even touch its soil. Also, it seems determined to introduce policies of protecting indigenous businesses, which render free trade a forgotten idea.

Americans do not want to fight wars again in the name of certain ideals. Be it democracy or free trade, they just want to mind their own business. Never again will the US end up making itself unsafe while making the world secure for democracy. Trump is the loudest expression uttered by George Bush Jr.: American innocence stands violated due to 9/ 11 incidents. For a whole decade, the US was in the state of war with dictatorships but it has now learned the lesson that peace and stability are precious and even kings should be welcome to restore it in turbulent regions like the Middle East.

The US fell into the pit called the Middle East via Afghanistan. It cannot just walk away while the whole region stands in flames. Ripples generated by the fall of Saddam regime have shaken the whole Arabian Peninsula. Trump has wits to evade the question as to what made America wage wars to have people democratic regimes but drop the project all of sudden.

Given his mood during the presidential campaign, heads of the government were not that eager to see and meet him after his entry into office but to wait and see which way the camel sits. Mexico’s president had scheduled a meeting with him within a week of Trump’s inauguration in Oval Office, but he snubbed him when he found the UK Prime Minister willing to see him. Before leaving for the US, Theresa May confidently told the Parliament that she was confident to talk to Trump frankly. She was true to her words when she met Trump — she convinced him to never call NATO an obsolete organisation, again!

Trump, quite understandably, is not expected to read much through the Human Rights record of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The reason is simple, which maintains that he is not Barack Obama or any other presidents of the past. It is not unlikely to hear from him that the situation in the Middle East is so dangerous that only kings can ensure peace — world knows how democracies in the developing part of the world have been a burden on US national exchequer.

The next leader that Trump wanted to see after May was the King of Saudi Arabia, the archrival of Iran. Before he had a telephonic conversation with him, he had excluded the name of this kingdom — but not that of Iran — from the list of Muslim-majority countries wherefrom the people could not land on American airports for 3-4 months as refugees.

“Such selective and discriminatory acts will only serve to embolden the radical narratives of extremists and will provide further fuel to the advocates of violence and terrorism at a critical time,” the Organization of Islamic Cooperation worriedly said. The 57-nation bloc urged the U.S. to reconsider the policy “and maintain its moral obligation to provide leadership and hope at a time of great uncertainty and unrest in the world.”

Trump does not want to sound moral. He is not going to feel shy of his easygoing manners. He does not fear whether the mainstream media is questioning his morality. After all, this was the traditional media that had pronounced his rival’s triumph before election results poured in. He can evade criticism on his policies and programs by terming it a conspiracy of the media. And he is doing it right now when his immigration ban has come into force.

So, do no lose the sense of humour if you are thinking, or even talking about, Trump. He is a phenomenon, unique and quite interesting, in American politics. He can be taken as a knee-jerk reaction to globalisation and all that it means. He may sound reactionary, for he does not want to let America overstretch to unmanageable limits. His entry into Oval Office has inaugurated an era when the US does not want to engage with the world as it used to be in the course of its history.

Try to imagine, in a realistic manner, what the world politics will appear like. Trump has announced to construct a wall along 2000 miles long Mexican border but does not want the American exchequer to pay the cost. He has termed NATO — sounding like Vladimir Putin — as an obsolete organisation. He is ready to talk to Russia vis-à-vis crippling Ukraine-related economic sanctions if it is willing to join hands with the US in the Middle East to defeat the IS and many other radical groups. He desires to have excellent relations with China, which the Pentagon has tipped as the top US rival in the strategic term.

What Trump is going to do during his present tenure? It seems he is going to turn the world upside down. But take a deep breath and try to understand his limits. There is resentment from within the Republican Party; Democrats simply loath him. He may backtrack on his election promises, something he has done in the case of NATO and the nuclear deal with Iran. He may do many wonderful things in the months and years to come but ultimately has to agree with the Congress — where Republicans have a two-seat majority.

The writer is an Islamabad-based veteran journalist and an independent researcher. He can be reached on Twitter @riazmissen