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President Donald Trump used the bully pulpit of his first joint address to Congress to emphasise, among other priorities, his administration’s intent to up the ante on the trade war that began with the U.S. slamming India, China, Canada and Mexico with tariffs of 25% or higher. Amidst walkouts by numerous Democratic lawmakers, he flagged his administration’s 100 executive orders and 400 executive actions to date as proof of his “swift and unrelenting action”, including on issues critical to American voters, such as reducing the cost of energy and “working tirelessly to end the savage conflict in Ukraine”. Early on in the speech, Mr. Trump underscored the U.S.’s withdrawal from the Paris climate accords, WHO and the U.N. Human Rights Council, even as he reiterated his administration’s commitment to the mantra of fossil fuel exploitation — “drill, baby, drill” — as the key approach to bringing down energy prices. He also railed against woke culture, specifically focusing on “getting men out of women’s sports,” as he had promised in his election campaign. In a hat tip to Elon Musk, the boss of the newly founded Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), he claimed that the initiative had already “found hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud”. This was notwithstanding shockwaves reverberating across the world from funding cuts and firings at organisations such as USAID, involved in critical projects in numerous countries; and lawsuits aimed at blocking DOGE’s access to confidential government data.
On the one hand, it is hardly surprising that Mr. Trump is pushing a conservative agenda, for example through his administration’s aggressive drive towards smaller government. On the other, there is a serious question of whether some of his second-term policies risk self-goals. Tariffs are a case in point, as independent economists have argued that higher import costs resulting from increased tariffs could lead importers to pass the economic burden onto consumers through higher prices, driving inflation, contrary to his economic promises. However, this warning has largely fallen on deaf ears among MAGA supporters. Similarly, there is a distinct possibility of the U.S. saving resources and materials of war if it “pauses” military support to Ukraine, yet this strategy does not apparently concern itself with the longer-term, possibly trans-Atlantic, consequences of signalling weakness of defence against Russian territorial ambitions looming over Europe. While the 2024 election revealed the depth of the partisan chasm between sections of American voters over crucial, emotive issues such as immigration, reproductive rights, and the economy, the tone and tenor of the second Trump administration does not instil confidence that this gap might be bridged in four years.
Published – March 07, 2025 12:10 am IST
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Unsettling plans: On Trump’s address to Congress and his policies
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