FPJ Analysis: Pushback Against Trump Policies
Americans are now pushing back against the policies of Donald Trump, who has, in a little over two months since his inauguration as US president, managed to disrupt the world order and cause turmoil in the USA. Thousands of protestors took to the streets of major US cities to express their anger against the Trump administration’s moves to sack thousands of federal workers, close Social Security Administration field offices, shut down entire agencies, deport immigrants, scale back protections for transgender people and cut funding for health programmes. The ‘hands off’ protests were organised by more than 150 groups, including civil rights organisations, labour unions, LGBTQ+ advocates and veterans, among others. The protests also extended to some European cities to rally against Trump’s trade policies.
Buoyed by his convincing election victory, including the popular vote, Trump decided to take matters into his hands, riding roughshod over stated government policy and imposing sweeping spending cuts egged on by his key collaborator, Elon Musk, who is now heading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The decision to reorganise the Social Security Administration, which is responsible for providing monthly benefits to millions of Americans, has resulted in turmoil. Shutting down USAID, which provides support to small and fragile democracies abroad, is a reversal of a decades-old commitment to democracy. Though Trump’s core constituency of supporters is still intact, some of his moves are creating unease among the American public. Stiff tariffs, even on countries considered to be allies, are leading to reciprocal moves that will burden the American consumer. Trump has warned that these measures will cause temporary disruption, but are the people willing to be patient? His expansionist rhetoric, such as threats to take over Greenland and the Panama Canal and reducing Canada to the 51st state of the USA, has few takers among the American people, who are struggling to make ends meet. The axing of thousands of jobs is causing nightmares, especially among health sector workers. The crackdown on campuses and the assault on free speech are other areas of concern. Arbitrary arrests and deportations are causing serious unrest, but Trump is undeterred and is bent on continuing his disruptive march in the misguided belief that his word is final.
This rise of authoritarianism is the very antithesis of the founding principles on which American democracy was built. If the protests take on the shape of a mass movement, a crackdown by the Trump administration is inevitable. America is indeed headed for a period of intense turmoil from which it will hopefully emerge stronger and live up to its democratic ideals.
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