LESS than two weeks ago as Donald Trump took his oath of office, the world watched and held its breath. How would this man with no experience in government cope with his first weeks as president of the most powerful nation on earth? There were many who scoffed and predicted stasis on Capitol Hill; few foresaw what we have witnessed over the last 12 days - an icy blast of change introduced at breakneck speed.
Mr Trump has signed 20 presidential directives in just 10 days - more than any other president in modern history. And the more we see of his use of such action, the more concerning it becomes for both his opponents in the US and the rest of the world.
There appears to be no imminent climbdown on the Muslim travel and immigration ban introduced hastily at the weekend amid chaotic scenes at airports and borders. It’s also an indication that Mr Trump and his new team clearly don’t believe it is necessary or indeed cogent to give government departments affected by radical policy change time to prepare. He is also immune to the waves of protest the ban precipitated in the US and around the world, including in Scotland, where thousands of people took to the streets not only in cities like Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee, but also places such as Orkney and St Andrews, to voice their opposition.
And the fallout continues on both sides of the Atlantic. Mr Trump’s sacking of the Attorney General Sally Yates after she instructed justice department lawyers not to enforce the ban, because she questioned its legality, is a particularly worrying development.
The summary dismissal of experts because they refuse to say what you want them to say is the sort of behaviour displayed by dictators – and recent events suggest that Mr Trump is now straying dangerously close to such a classification. The removal of rights, the extreme reaction to dissent, the “betrayal” narrative being peddled by his advisors; all of this is unprecedented and clearly at odds with the constitution that Americans hold so dear. Mr Trump may have run his business along dictatorial lines, but he cannot be allowed to run the country this way, especially when the office of president is more highly-valued than any of its individual incumbents. With this in mind, former President Barack Obama’s statement that he was “heartened” by the opposition to the ban is also unprecedented - and to be welcomed.
The fast-moving events of the last few days have also brought into sharp focus failures in Prime Minister Theresa May’s approach to Mr Trump, which is attracting a barrage of criticism, not least over the state visit she was overly keen to offer the new president.
Mrs May is under increasing pressure to reveal whether she knew about the Muslim ban before she proffered the invitation – the highest level of hospitality and expression of friendship that can be bestowed on a foreign leader – at their summit last week. At the time of writing, a petition to halt the visit was nearing two million signatures. The number of signatories means MPs will now debate the visit in Parliament, leaving Mrs May and her Government with difficult questions to answer.
There are increasingly difficult questions too, of course, over the Prime Minister’s wider strategy towards the new US regime, which appears to be solely focussed on bagging a trade deal for the UK post-Brexit. She may well have achieved progress on this, especially with a state visit to use as a bargaining chip. But in the last few days, with protests against Mr Trump in the UK gaining extraordinary traction, any reflected glory from this is fading fast.
Mrs May appears to have a one-track mind in this post-Brexit world; she probably calculated that it was worth taking some flak over being seen to cosy-up to Mr Trump in order to further British aspirations.
But at this point the Prime Minister would surely do well to ask herself whether Mr Trump’s behaviour and outlook – the Muslim ban, increased protectionism, praising Russia - really is compatible with the British world view she claims to hold, which is formed around global free trade, the upholding of Nato, a strong EU and strong rhetoric against a resurgent and potentially dangerous Russia. We should not forget that only a few months ago Mrs May’s Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said Mr Trump was “clearly out of his mind”; she is playing with fire here by putting a trade deal with the US above all other considerations and it could sour relations with other allies, especially those in the EU.
Her apparent complicity with Mr Trump could also impact her popularity with the UK public, even among those who voted for Brexit but have no stomach for the President’s more extreme actions.
Mrs May always knew that her premiership would be shaped by her handling of Brexit; it is becoming increasingly clear that it may also be shaped by her relationship with Donald Trump. She would do well to consider her future dealings with him extremely carefully.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel