Special to Al Arabiya English, Saturday, 31 March 2018
It
is often hazardous to argue against conventional wisdom, particularly when
there are strong beliefs and sentiments attached to a popular line of thinking.
Perhaps, the best way to introduce a contrarian position in such a situation is
to ingrain it in the general psyche through subterfuge, a kind of Trojan nuance
that exploits any internal chink or contradiction through a plea for a morphed
approach. This method is often employed by the accomplished intellectual or a
suave political figure like former US President Barack Hussein Obama.
It was through
this approach that Obama could present himself as an agent of change in the
2008 elections, but managed to perpetuate the stranglehold of big banks and
businesses over the US economy without any opposition from his leftist
supporters. He also employed his deliberate ambivalence towards extremist
uprisings during the so-called ‘Arab Spring’ that wreaked havoc on the security
and stability of the Middle East. He even ramped up NSA spying, kept Gitmo
going and allowed a large number of extrajudicial drone killings without
sullying his image as a Nobel peace laureate. Thus, President Obama has
remained a darling of the liberal bourgeoisie and one of the most popular US
presidents around the world.
In complete
contrast, we have his much vilified successor in President Donald Trump.
Decried as being loud and crass, this president has been called a White
supremacist, a Russian agent and a disrupter-in-chief. Whatever the veracity of
these charges, Trump is less devious than his predecessors and quite clear
about what he stands for. Far from being unpredictable, his policies are
remarkably consistent as he takes his promises to the electorate quite
seriously. Many political observers may be rightly upset over his brash style
and often unbecoming language and conduct, as well as his wrong choice of
cabinet members and his lack of sympathy for international causes. But unlike
his predecessors, Trump puts America ahead of any imperial globalist agenda and
does not care about hiding his failings and shortcomings, which in itself has
its benefits and drawbacks.
In fact, President Trump who had
Watergate-level opinion poll numbers at the beginning of his term has recently
seen a sea-change in his job approval ratings. Two surveys conducted by US
media outlets, CNN and Associated
Press, have found remarkable similarity in their outcomes — with
35 percent approval ratings in February rising to 42 percent by March. One of
the reasons for this notable fillip has been the good performance of the US
economy.
According to employment report from the US
Bureau of Labor Statistics in March, the American manufacturing
sector added 222,000 jobs, resuming a recovery that had paused in 2015 and
2016, at a rate quite strong by the standards
of the last three decades. What is even more impressive is the growth
in wages, which is the strongest
in more than eight years, while the overall economic
growth has been at its highest in 13 years. Another highlight is
that this flattering picture is not limited to big business, but small
business optimism, as gauged by the National Federation of
Independent Business, has reached its highest level in its 45-year history.
According to Trump himself many
American and foreign companies are now setting base in the US. Thus, he stated
in the State
of the Union address in late January this year: “Chrysler
is moving a major plant from Mexico to Michigan, Toyota and Mazda are opening
up a plant in Alabama … Apple has just announced it plans to invest a total of
$350 billion in America, and hire another 20,000 workers.” Trump’s tax cuts on
middle class and deregulation efforts are touted as reasons for the present
economic upswing.
Even on the highly controversial ‘trade
war’ bullying tactics, Trump seems to be scoring some early victories for now.
Heeding the pleas of many US allies in Europe, Trump is said to have agreed to
grant temporary reprieve against his spike in US
steel and aluminum tariffs in lieu of help to bring down the US trade deficit.
Many steel companies and car making giants, from Germany to South Korea are
reportedly falling in line with US demands. Trump’s brinkmanship is also said
to be taming the Asian dragon, with China of all countries urging the WTO to
intervene in order to avoid tit-for-tit tariff reprisals across the globe. The
fears of a global trade war have since receded with stock markets recovering,
as China has started holding talks with the US to bring down the burgeoning
US trade deficit, which now stands at a record $375 billion.
Perhaps, Trump knew from the beginning that China would concede as the Asian
giant has more to lose being largely an export-driven economy.
The possibility of
the first ever meeting by a US President with North Korean leader, after
Trump’s acrimonious exchanges with Kim Jong Un on twitter over the months, is
also a cause for rise in the US president’s increasing popularity in his
country. The fact that the North Korean leader at China’s behest has become
open to the idea of denuclearization is itself a significant development and
could have major implications for other obdurate powers in the Middle East that
are still adamant on opposing US demands.
The manner in which possible US-North
Korea parleys unfold would be interesting to observe. It is surprising that
even though Trump’s
personality is still not liked by most Americans, discount the
fact that a majority approves of his policies. Perhaps, Trump can never be a
popular US president around the world, simply because he openly pursues an
‘America First’ agenda. Still, the time has come for the world to understand
and reconcile with Trump for what he is and accept him with all his unique
strengths and flaws.
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