What awaits the US and the world in Trump's new term? 'The breaking point of the century'

Suat TEKİN - 12punto FOREIGN NEWS

The 47th President of the United States, Donald Trump, who took over the Oval Office from former president Joe Biden, sat in the presidential chair last Monday. The policies voiced by the Republicans during the election campaign began to be implemented with Trump taking office. On his first day, Trump canceled more than 80 executive orders issued during the Biden era and signed more than 1,500 new ones.

Trump, who has become US President for the second time, is signaling 'radical' changes in many different areas, from civil rights to the structure of the US state, and from economic policies to US foreign affairs.

During the election campaign that began in 2024, Trump and his team stated that they aimed to implement right-wing policies comprehensively in state administration and the 'social sphere.' Signing numerous controversial decisions in his first week in office, Trump has begun to bring the 'change' he promised to life. Veteran journalist and author Bahadır Selim Dilek commented to 12punto on what awaits the US and the world in Trump's new term.

'NOT JUST A PRESIDENT, BUT A REFLECTION OF A CULTURE'

Giving a speech at the ''Make America Great Again - Victory Rally'' on January 20, Trump had stated that he would begin implementing his promises from the very first day.

The veteran journalist stated that Trump is different from past US presidents and expressed that 'the whole world is waiting with anxiety to see what he will do.'

On the other hand, for the new US President, who signals 'change' in almost every political and cultural field, Dilek uses the definition, 'He is not just a president, but a reflection of a culture.' According to Dilek, Trump's taking office is 'the breaking point of the 21st century for the US and the world.'

Along with this, Dilek describes the conditions that created Trump as follows:

'Trump is not just a president but a reflection of a culture; let us underline this with a thick pen. The conditions that formed Trump emerged from the wounds opened by the postmodern and globalist world system. There is currently a techno-fascism on a scale we could not have predicted before.

Those who hold communication technologies now have the power to direct the perception of world public opinion and hold politics in their hands. This situation provides them with the opportunity to earn astronomical amounts of money. These conditions produced a new reality.'

Apple CEO Tim Cook, X owner Elon Musk, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos were present at Trump's official inauguration ceremony

''THE US WILL BECOME TRUMP'S SHOP''

Pointing out that Trump has created a new understanding of politics, Dilek notes that Trump is 'following a line different from the old capitalist/imperialist understanding and has begun to appeal to a newly emerging social base.' Dilek defines this base as follows:

'This base perceives the world through social media. Masses/crowds have begun to emerge whose perception of the world will be distorted when they remove social media from their lives.'

According to Dilek, the emergence of these masses can also be interpreted as a result of techno-fascism.

The techno-billionaires pointed to by Dilek also possess the tools to manipulate this base. Considering these 'masses' in the rising techno-fascism, it seems likely that they will play an important role in shaping the future of the US. Dilek comments on this situation with these words:

''This situation (the emergence of the 'masses' influenced by Trump's populism) paved the way for techno-fascism to use the power in its hands in favor of people like Trump. The US will now become Trump's shop. They will prepare the ground for people to support this. The technology billionaires and other wealthy individuals beside him will prepare this ground.''

REACTION AGAINST IDENTITY POLITICS BENEFITS TRUMP

Another important topic Dilek expresses is that the reaction against Woke culture has paved the way for Trump's rise. Stating that 'identity politics follows a policy of exploiting people and societies,' Dilek is of the opinion that the discomfort resulting from this situation works in Trump's favor.

'The policy of exploiting/abusing people and societies through identity-ism and identity politics has also begun to be met with great reaction. Trump will shape his policies by taking advantage of this reaction.

We may not see identity-ism like before, but it is also a matter of excess and deficiency. That is, he may emerge with the promise of preventing a problem and take a step toward cold-blooded fascism. He is giving signals of this.'

HOW WILL THE US FOREIGN POLICY BE SHAPED IN THE TRUMP ERA?

US foreign policy also seems likely to undergo a serious change during the Trump era. Regarding the subject, Dilek drew attention to the possibility of Trump taking steps that could disrupt geopolitical balances in the world and uttered the following words:

''If we look at it from the perspective of the world, let us not say 'he is crazy, whatever he does is acceptable,' but he is an untrustworthy man. He is not predictable. It is not very clear what he will do either. Because of this situation, the whole world is anxious. Trump says whatever comes to his mind in line with pure US interests. If we look at it from the perspective of the civilized world, it is also dangerous because it could cause some of the world's strategic fault lines to break. We can say that a dangerous period awaits the world throughout Trump's rule.''

Regarding Trump's demand for Canada and Greenland, Dilek expressed the following views:

'Greenland and Canada had been on the US agenda for a long time. Trump has made these public. China will also react to this situation. These things are not that easy. The US wants to walk around without a stick in a village without dogs, but world balances are not suitable for this.'

French President Emmanuel Macron, upon Trump's demand for Greenland and Canada, addressed European countries and stated that ''Europe can no longer rely on the US for its security''

IS TRUMP SEARCHING FOR A WAY NOT TO LEAVE THE SEAT?

Whether Trump, who has come to the Presidential office for the second time, will leave the seat at the end of his term is also a question mark. According to the US Constitution, presidents could serve for a maximum of two terms. Dilek mentioned that according to what he has heard from the US, 'Trump might try to be the first president to change this situation.'

Dilek recorded the following words regarding the subject:

''Trump might be searching for a way not to leave the presidential seat at the end of his term. To put it more clearly, it is certain that he is 'searching for how to maintain my power'.''

According to what Dilek has heard, Trump's team is conducting research to be able to be a presidential candidate again at the end of his term. These researches also include Trump's efforts to ''institutionalize Trumpism.''

Regarding Trump's 'efforts to transform the system,' Dilek stated that he thinks 'a system based on an individual cannot be long-lived.' However, the veteran journalist added that it is too early to make a definitive comment about the danger of the institutionalization of Trumpism.