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Photo by Brandon Mowinkel on Unsplash |
In these early days of the second stint of the Trump presidency one thing has become evidently clear: America is not sending their best.
From
foreign affairs to climate, civil rights or democracy overall, this administration
seems packed with figures, stances and policies that don’t represent the best
America is capable of.
America is
not sending its best on foreign policy, sidestepping Europe and Ukraine in
favor of Russia—a
huge win for China, which now has even more reason to believe a crumbling
international order could pave the way for a future invasion
of Taiwan.
They’re not
sending their best in diplomacy, with Vice President Vance chastising European allies for
(rightly) refusing to accommodate those who seek to undermine their democracies—all while imposing MAGA’s anti-immigrant
stance on European countries.
They’re not
sending their best in healthcare, where they’ve put RFK Jr, a known anti-vaxxer, as head
of Health and Human Services. Surely, America and the rest of the world can breathe easy should
another pandemic hit—so long as we have Ivermectin, we’ll be gucci.
They’re not
sending their best on climate policy, with the Trump administration not only withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris
Climate Agreement
but also expanding fossil fuel production—a sharp move away from the aggressive decarbonization
needed to meet climate goals.
They’re not
sending their best when it comes to diversity, equality and inclusion with the firing of air force general CQ
Brown Jr. Despite
the general’s vast curriculum, Pete Hegseth couldn’t be sure whether he had
been picked back in 2020 (by Trump no less) for his skill or his skin color. Retired Lt General, Dan “Razin”
Caine, was picked for his position despite not meeting all the necessary
requirements for the job (so much for merit, I suppose).
DEI was an
obviously flawed quick fix that didn’t address the root causes of inequality,
but doing away with it without addressing the structural reasons equity and
inclusion need to remain an active policy hasn’t solved anything either. If anything, it just risks
aggravating injustices.
They’re
also not sending their best when it comes to civil liberties (aka freedom).
With the
enforcement of the Hyde Amendment—which prevents federal funds from being used
for abortions and disproportionately affects low-income
individuals—alongside
the Global Gag Rule, which cuts off U.S. foreign aid to organizations that
provide or even discuss abortion services, access to reproductive healthcare
has become increasingly restricted both domestically and internationally.
Whatever one’s stance on abortion, making it prohibitively difficult to obtain,
even in cases that remain legal in most states, constitutes an infringement on
personal liberty.
It is also
hardly in line with the ‘Land of the Free’ to ban trans people from serving in the
military or attempt
to legally erase their existence—replacing reality with the fiction
that sex and gender are identical, despite all scientific consensus
distinguishing the two.
Western
liberal democracy stands to gain when America stands as a shiny city on the
hill upholding everyone’s God-given rights and liberties. Not when it seeks to
impose the will of one group over that of the other, denies science, or
sidelines long-term allies and cozies up to dictators such as Putin.
Despite all
this, some, I assume, are good picks.
So far,
Marco Rubio as Secretary of State has given me some solace. He has everything
to be a solid pick for Secretary of State who can advance conservative foreign
policy without forsaking American values and allies.
Despite
disagreements on some issues, I’m willing to say that he is someone who can be
relied on for good evidence and values-based policy.
Another
such good pick seems to be Keith Kellogg, who has shown at least the willingness to listen to
Ukraine’s side
while its fate is being negotiated in absentia in Riyadh.
The weight
of his role is yet to be seen, but if he’s given a place at the table when it
comes to negotiating a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine, then he could
prove himself a reliable asset in assuring every side of this conflict is
heard.
To give
some of the former picks some praise, which they’ll receive more of should they
prove me wrong, Pete Hegseth’s admission that ascension
to NATO is impossible for Ukraine was refreshing after years of the Biden administration promising what
it knew it couldn’t deliver to Ukraine. RFK Jr.’s willingness to denounce big
pharma could prove useful if channeled toward the right targets and JD Vance
could… sorry, I can’t come with anything for him.
I decided
to wait and see before I criticized the administration and their picks but
after only just a few weeks, I think I’ve seen enough to suspect these next four
years are going to prove turbulent. The US has every right to reverse policy on
whatever issues its voters wish to reverse course on – that is what elections
are held for – but that doesn’t come without extended consequences.
America
would do well to, for example, allow European countries to establish an
attainable long-term commitment to achieve defense spending goals rather than leave
it to fend for itself against an overtly aggressive neighbor.
Make
America Great Again shouldn’t have to mean Leave Everyone Else Behind. European
interests are also American interests and there are ways to uphold the
interests of both sides—stability in Europe means a wider
market for American goods and services to flow into.
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