Will President Trump change the world?

Donald Trump will be sworn in today as the 45th president of the United States. Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to attend the ceremony at the Capitol. With dubious deals this businessman and inexperienced politician could destroy the existing world order, some commentators fear. Others warn against drawing hasty conclusions about his presidency.

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El País (ES) /

The destruction of a world order

The fact that Trump's inauguration and Brexit coincide marks the start of a new era, El País observes:

“In the future we may look back on the start of Trump's presidency today as the moment when the US began dismantling the world order that successive administrations have constructed and maintained with such perseverance since 1945. Trump's inauguration as president coincides with this week's announcement by the British prime minister that she intends to initiate a total and complete withdrawal of her country from the European Union. The overlap of these events brutally poses the question of whether we are not indeed witnessing the - absurdly self-imposed - end of a long and fruitful period of Anglo-Saxon hegemony.”

The Economist (GB) /

The president must not act like a businessman

Trump apparently believes he can act in international politics the same way he did as a businessman, The Economist warns:

“Mr Trump acts as if he can get what he wants from sovereign states by picking fights that he is then willing to settle - at a price, naturally. His mistake is to think that countries are like businesses. In fact, America cannot walk away from China in search of another superpower to deal with over the South China Sea. ... Dealings between sovereign states tend towards anarchy - because, ultimately, there is no global government to impose order and no means of coercion but war. For as long as Mr Trump is unravelling the order that America created, and from which it gains so much, he is getting his country a terrible deal.”

La Repubblica (IT) /

National reconciliation seems unattainable

On the eve of his inauguration Donald Trump promised to reconcile his divided country. The US correspondent of La Repubblica doubts he will achieve his goal:

“Never before has a candidate who received three million votes fewer than his rival been elected president. Never before has the legitimacy of a new president been so contested. More than 50 opposition congressmen will not take part in the inauguration ceremony. Never before have there been suspicions that a foreign power had a hand in having a candidate elected. Never before has a president been so unpopular on his first day in office. Never before have there been so many protest marches before and during the transition of power. Nevertheless, Trump has done nothing during the long and difficult transitional phase since November 9 to reach out to the other (larger) half of the American population. The half that doesn't trust him, that fears and despises him. So just when is this national reconciliation process supposed to begin?”

Rzeczpospolita (PL) /

Trump wants to be on good terms with Congress

Trump is pursuing above all one goal with his cabinet choices, Rzeczpospolita comments:

“Trump, who is just an outsider in US politics, was determined not to make one of the mistakes Obama made, namely to end up isolated in the White House without gaining recognition in Congress. ... So Trump's priority was to establish good contacts with the Republican leadership. For example it will be the job of [designated chief of staff] Reince Priebus to establish these good relations. He has been the chairman of the Republican National Committee and a close confidant of Paul Ryan, the speaker of the House of Representatives, for five years. … For the new president this is the only way to get his ideas, including curbing immigration, ending Obamacare and a new trade policy, put into practice.”

Mladá fronta dnes (CZ) /

No rash judgements please

At last Donald Trump is being sworn in, Mladá fronta dnes comments with a sigh of relief:

“That's the end of all the finger-wagging of those who speculated about what would happen in the Oval Office. Those who never dreamed he would win the election of course knew in the past weeks what Trump would do and that it would all end badly. But the truth is no one knows whether he will be a good or bad president. … Trump doesn't necessarily plan to save the whole world with a smile on his lips. But perhaps he will: if he gets the US back on its feet he would have done more for the world than if he won the Nobel Peace Prize. But this is a description of the situation before day 1. How it will all end no one really knows. Not even Trump.”

More opinions

T24 (TR) / 20 January 2017
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