Advertisement

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

Alamy Stock Photo

Larry Donnelly It appears Trump is starting as he means to go on

Our columnist wonders what President-elect Trump’s plans are after this week’s political posturing.

TOGETHER WITH MY wife and sons, I spent 10 days and nights in Washington, DC and in my cherished Boston over the Christmas and New Year period. We saw the sights and caught up with family and friends. Among numerous highlights was a jet lag-fuelled, crack of dawn walk with Larry Óg to Capitol Hill the morning after we arrived in the United States.

While in the vicinity, he and I took plenty of pictures. My namesake made me tear up when, awestruck, he gesticulated at the famous building and asked: “Is this where Uncle Brian used to work?” Our impromptu stroll to this seat of power at a potentially pivotal moment in history was followed by a swift trip on the Metro Red Line to neighbouring Bethesda, Maryland for a delicious breakfast at the incomparable Tastee Diner.

As usual, politics featured on the menu of the discussions I had with relations, old pals and acquaintances. What surprised me most was the degree to which the women and men I encountered, including those who I understand to be ardently opposed to Donald Trump, were fairly sanguine when asked to look ahead to his second term. “We survived the last ride… let’s hope he succeeds and can do some good things… it probably can’t get worse than it has been” were the dominant sentiments. Full-blown despondency about Trump was as hard to unearth as heartfelt tributes to the administration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were.

Trump 2.0

Zooming out from the opinions that were espoused in the midst of conversations over beers, there is no shortage of uncertainty to be found in the global audience of stakeholders in Trump II. Just what is he going to do? Speculation is relentless on this front, yet the fact of the matter is that no one knows. Pundits who imply that they do aren’t worth listening to.

The apparently weightier sense of alarm beyond the borders of the US with respect to the imminent tenure of the 47th POTUS was definitely heightened by the comments he made at a press conference this week in Mar-a-Lago. He declined to rule out employing military force to retake control of the Panama Canal and Greenland, and averred that he would utilise his country’s financial might to compel Canada to morph into the 51st state.

u-s-president-joe-biden-vice-president-kamala-harris-former-president-george-w-bush-former-president-barack-obama-and-president-elect-donald-trump-attend-the-state-funeral-for-former-u-s-preside Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, former Presidents Bush, Obama and President-elect Donald Trump attend the State Funeral for former President Jimmy Carter at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington this week. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Further, he revelled in his scepticism of the science supporting the existential threat of climate change and reiterated the “drill, baby, drill” mantra. Finally, and quite worryingly for the already besieged residents of Gaza, he indicated that, if an agreement to free the remaining hostages there isn’t reached by the minute he gets into office, “all hell is going to break out.” That we haven’t the faintest notion what that could translate into makes it even more terrifying.

First, these declarations of intent on external policy warrant parsing to assess their plausibility and what could flow therefrom. Second, this language is very muscular and contrasts with the isolationist messaging that was to the fore during the campaign. It’s America First, both at home and abroad. To what end?

There is, as the soon-to-be ex-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau posted on X, not “a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States.” It is similarly a sure thing that Trump’s presidency will have a negative impact on the environment and will be detrimental to efforts to arrest rapidly rising temperatures. The tragic plight of those in Gaza could get far worse before it gets better, although Trump will not tolerate prolonged conflict.

Dispatching soldiers to seize the Panama Canal and/or Greenland would provoke widespread fury and be a catastrophic error. It is pretty unfathomable. International law scholars concur that, unless Trump were to order troops in, the US cannot recapture ownership of the canal from the Panamanians.

Greenland may be a different kettle of fish. Trump isn’t the only president ever interested in “acquiring” the massive Arctic island; Harry Truman mooted it, too. Greenland is a constituent component of the Kingdom of Denmark. That said, the Danes have consistently asserted that Greenlanders have the option to be wholly independent if they desire it.

washington-dc-usa-september-15-2019-caricature-of-greenland-and-donald-trump-us-president-with-danish-island-hairstyle-editorial-politics-celeb Caricature of Greenland and Donald Trump. US President with Danish Island Hairstyle. Editorial politics celeb. Alamy Stock Vector Alamy Stock Vector

For defence and other aims, Trump wants Greenland. If he were to propose that it become a US territory and simultaneously offer enormous – say, double the current allocation from Denmark – subsidies, permit it to retain the local parliament, provide a security guarantee, promise a substantial share of the spoils derived from natural resources and grant its people the right to live, work and study in the US at least temporarily, a deal could ultimately be done. A carefully crafted statement from Greenland’s foreign minister in response to the Trump family’s overtures is telling. Don’t dismiss this possibility out of hand.

Coming in hot

Generally speaking, and this depends on whether Trump will stay the course in pursuit of a controversial agenda, how can such an arguably interventionist bent be reconciled with the mandate many millions of voters gave him to continue America’s retreat from the world? It seems that he is determined to copper-fasten regional hegemony, and he is convinced that, in doing so, he can address domestic concerns on inflation and avoid unnecessary wars at the same time.

This aggressive posturing may not be well received in a milieu where the prevalent mood is isolationist. And the legions of expert, critical observers of Trump now venturing that this rambling rhetoric is a smoke screen deliberately orchestrated to distract attention from the reality that his simplistic slogans will not solve the complex problems of America have a point.

Moreover, as has also been suggested, if Trump does move decisively and to some extent ludicrously – see, for example, his advocacy for retitling the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America – to show that the US is supreme in the region, what signal will that send to China and Russia? Each has clear and foreboding ambitions in its own surrounds.

In sum, uncertainty – yes, that word again – abounds. Trump thrives on it. All eyes and ears will be focused on the content and tone of the inaugural speech on the 20th in a desperate search for greater clarity. However, because the uniquely loved and loathed man who pulled off an objectively extraordinary political comeback in 2024 is who he is, the truth is that we are unlikely to be any the wiser on the 21st.

Larry Donnelly is a Boston lawyer, a Law Lecturer at the University of Galway and a political columnist with TheJournal.ie.

Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

Close
61 Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy here before taking part.
Leave a Comment
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute sean o reilly
    Favourite sean o reilly
    Report
    Mar 8th 2014, 12:04 PM

    What about clamp alert. Lets users know were the vans are.

    113
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Ian Murphy
    Favourite Ian Murphy
    Report
    Mar 8th 2014, 1:51 PM

    Parking legally usually sorts that one out.

    101
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Tom Maclane
    Favourite Tom Maclane
    Report
    Mar 8th 2014, 2:51 PM

    Not so sure. Got clamped while I was parked with 10 minutes left on my parking ticket left on the dashboard.

    31
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Simon Eales
    Favourite Simon Eales
    Report
    Mar 8th 2014, 1:56 PM

    FilmOn is also a great free app for live TV.

    30
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Niall B.
    Favourite Niall B.
    Report
    Mar 8th 2014, 12:20 PM

    “So I’m going to give you something that weighs over 1 ton and costs the best part of 10 grand. Don’t lose it”
    -How people lose their cars beats me.

    28
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute gerbreen
    Favourite gerbreen
    Report
    Mar 8th 2014, 1:57 PM

    Beware the InApp purchases particularly if you have kids playing with the iphone or ipad!

    16
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute keith kavangh
    Favourite keith kavangh
    Report
    Mar 8th 2014, 12:57 PM

    https://itunes.apple.com/ie/app/live-media-player/id757791253?mt=8

    Free tv/sport just search the channel name on the top right

    4
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Phillip Griffin
    Favourite Phillip Griffin
    Report
    Mar 8th 2014, 4:48 PM

    Quizup: so addictive

    2
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Energy Elephant
    Favourite Energy Elephant
    Report
    Mar 10th 2014, 11:37 AM

    Best of luck to all the brave start-ups across Ireland (we’re gonna need it)!

    If you are on LinkedIn we’re a new start up for businesses looking to reduce their energy costs (http://www.linkedin.com/company/energyelephant-com).

    On the finance side, we’ve learned the hard way that the best way to raise finance is to find paying customers. It is easier and less time consuming than any of the grant processes which to be honest are almost a waste of your time and effort unless you have no other options.

    1
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Vince O'Shea
    Favourite Vince O'Shea
    Report
    Mar 9th 2014, 1:38 AM

    more clogging dirt, if i see one more app on security wheres theres 100s, ill eh… smash my old nokia

    1
Submit a report
Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
Thank you for the feedback
Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.

Leave a commentcancel

 
JournalTv
News in 60 seconds