Felon in the White House
THE changing of the guard in Washington, D.C. next week will mark a new milestone in America’s history: a felon will return to the White House. A man who has been convicted on almost three dozen charges of felony, but spared jail time, will be sworn in as the country’s 47th US president.
Donald Trump will have the dubious distinction of being the first convicted US president-elect to be administered the oath to abide by the country’s constitution and law. Notwithstanding the long charge sheet against him, he has been elected by the people and that has saved him from being sent to jail. As president, he will enjoy immunity during his term in office.
Not only that, but with his control over both the Senate and Congress, Trump will perhaps be the most powerful US president in recent history, which would allow him to fulfil his highly controversial agenda at home and abroad. He has promised a big economic package, mass deportation, scrapping the climate control policy and annexation of foreign lands. His support among the tech tycoons has also influenced his right-wing priorities.
Trump’s nominated cabinet comprising mainly loyalists is no less controversial, with some cabinet members face damning accusations. His choice of defence secretary is most controversial.
Pete Hegseth, a military veteran and former television anchor who hasn’t held a political post before, has been investigated for sexual assault, with reports of heavy drinking dogging him. There have been questions regarding his fitness for the job. But he has the full confidence of the president-elect. Not all the other nominees have clean records either. But with the Republican majority in the Senate, it will not be difficult to get their nomination approved.
The president-elect has made some audacious claims.
Trump’s choice for other key cabinet positions may not be facing grave accusations but most of them are known for their right-wing positions both on domestic and foreign policy issues. The president-elect has also made some audacious claims signifying his administration’s imperialist designs.
He is not ready to rule out the use of military force to seize control of the Panama Canal and Greenland, citing national security interests. While Greenland is an autonomous territory of Denmark, the US had relinquished control of the canal, transferring it to the Panamanian authorities in 1999. Both countries are long-time allies of Washington. “The Panama Canal is vital to our country,” he told journalists.
He has also threatened to impose high tariffs on Denmark if the country attempts to obstruct him, and has indicated that the people of Greenland would welcome his plan of taking over. Some critics believe that it is more about Trump’s business interests, which they say dominate his plan to take control of Greenland. According to some reports, Trump’s eldest son was recently in Greenland reinforcing speculations about his father’s intentions.
Trump has also repeatedly called for Canada to join the US as the latter’s 51st state. It is certainly more than just rhetoric on his part. While declaring that he would not use military force to annex the North American nation of more than 40 million people — a country that is also rich in natural resources — he has threatened to squeeze it economically.
He has also talked about increasing tariffs for Canada and Mexico so that he can bring them to their knees. He has announced he would attempt to rename the Gulf of Mexico the ‘Gulf of America’.
His defence of Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza has become more pronounced now, and he has escalated his warning to Hamas, saying that “all hell will break out” in the Middle East if the Israeli hostages were not returned before he takes oath of office. Such statements give further impunity to Israel’s aggression. With his cabinet full of staunch Zionist supporters there is practically no hope of Israel’s genocidal war ending.
Trump’s motto to ‘Make America Great Again’ (MAGA) was initially seen as an isolationist agenda, promising to focus on America’s problems rather than worrying about the world. But his latest threats of annexing Greenland and seizing control of the Panama Canal underscore more sinister expansionist designs. It doesn’t stop there as some key members of his nominated team are now talking about a change of regime in some Western European countries that are close US allies. All this is happening even before Trump has taken office.
Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and a close confidant of the president-elect, even suggested that the US “should liberate the people of Britain from their tyrannical government”, extending America’s potential involvement to other countries in Western Europe, including Germany, Norway, and France.
The multibillionaire spent millions of dollars on Donald Trump’s re-election campaign and has enormous influence on US politics through the social media network X that he owns. Although he is said to have refused to accept any cabinet position, he is heading the so-called Department of Government Efficiency that will aim to drastically cut the federal budget. Trump touted Musk as the ‘secretary of cost-cutting’ that gives a clear idea of Musk’s influence in the incoming administration.
Musk is using his social media platform X to bring the far-right Alternative for Germany party into the mainstream. He is encouraging voters to vote for the AfD in the upcoming polls. The party has long been under surveillance by Germany’s domestic intelligence service for its links to neo-Nazis.
Musk also mulled over a $100m donation to the right-wing Reform UK, which would have been the country’s largest political donation ever. The party’s leader, Nigel Farage has met Trump since his re-election. This is brazen interference in the domestic politics of other countries. A felon in the White House is not only a threat to his own country but also bad news for the rest of the world.
The writer is an author and journalist.
X: @hidhussain
Published in Dawn, January 15th, 2025