By Philip Yeung
America gives the world a white-knuckle ride
What a white-knuckle roller-coaster ride it is - Trump's first 100 days in office feels like an eternity. Without concerns for re-election, Trump has unleashed himself on the world as a terrifying economic terrorist, cratering the global trading system by wielding tariffs as weapons of mass destruction.
The house of fear and chaos
Trump's schtick is fear. He wants people to be afraid of him. Everything is melodramatic and utterly erratic. Trade disputes have escalated into economic nuclear warfare. Chaos is at the core of his governance. America has quickly descended into a land of lawlessness, without oversight, without constitutional constraints. The US no longer has an elected president. It has a mad king who is the law. Where are the checks and balances? Where is Congress? At the worst moment, both houses are populated by silent flocks of sleazy sycophants and opportunistic cowards.
America, the international lawbreaker
America is now a country known for breaking international laws rather than for upholding them. It is not tethered to morality and has no use for alliances. Trump's mood swings are in sync with his wild policy flip-flops. Any short-term gains are far outweighed by the total loss of trust between countries and even between close allies.
America has elected a wrecking ball
The economically illiterate Trump is poised to single-handedly plunge the world into recession, on the empty promise of bringing manufacturing jobs back to the US. Now Americans know that they have elected a wrecking ball. They must live with the consequences and the fallout of the Trump Paradox.
What is the Trump paradox?
Well, he is a convicted criminal who is now deporting other supposed criminals. He was found guilty of sexual assault but he is fingering Mexicans as rapists. He owns six bankruptcies and is losing no time in bankrupting the US economy, as China and Japan are outdoing each other in selling US bonds. Twice impeached and twice elected, he is a president who came close to being convicted of inciting the violent overthrow of government. A conman and megalomaniac, he has turned American diplomacy into a farce. He doesn't read books and is known for murdering the English language. Yet, he has appointed a semi-literate woman Minister of Education who has jaw-droppingly called Artificial Intelligence "A1". Her job, paradoxically, is to dismantle her department of education and deal herself out of a job. His cabinet of clowns is turning the US government into a circus that plays to the world.
Why will China not bow or bend?
Trump doesn't negotiate; he intimidates. Levies on China have skyrocketed to 245%. This number is as outrageous as it is meaningless. He plays a game of chicken, expecting China to blink first, counting on the Chinese to bend a knee and beg for crumbs from his table. But he has overplayed his hand, clearly unnerved by China's unflappability. He should have known that there is an iron law in Chinese diplomacy: After its hundred-year humiliation by predatory foreign powers, China swore: "Never Again". "Humiliation" has disappeared from its dictionary. Trump is thus making an epic miscalculation. Come what may, China will never kowtow to any country. Trump would have to wait till the Pacific drains out or the Arctic melts away. This stone-cold determination not to submit gives the Chinese a sense of calm in the eye of the storm. The art of the deal is useless against a nation that has an unbreakable iron will. Poor Trump can't put the genie back into the bottle. Someone has to genuflect to the god of money, but it won't be the Chinese.
An act of self-sabotage
Trump's tariff war is an act of self-sabotage. Some have called it the worst US decision in 95 years, cursed by the twin evils of rising inflation and unemployment. Across America, farmers and shopkeepers are crying into their cups.
The reign of terror: Why the world is avoiding America?
America has unrecognizably turned into another society. The reign of terror has begun. It has cancelled over a thousand student visas for no reason. A Japanese doctoral student is facing deportation for a fishing violation, just a year away from getting his degree. Over 70% of Canadians have cancelled their visits to the US, with Australian academics and comedians fearful of stepping on US soil, concerned over the dire consequences of having been critical or disrespectful of Trump. This is no longer the land of the free.
America will not survive four years of Trump
There is fear that with the tense tariff standoff with China, America is inching close to war over the Pacific. This is an unwinnable war that will claim US dominance and economy as collateral damage. Trump's return is a cruel joke on America and a scourge on the planet. In three short months, America as we know it is dead, and US global supremacy is buried beneath the Trump rubble. So much for making America great again. The lesson here: never trust a blond reality show host who can't even rule his own mouth. The old order with America at the center is no more. From now on, it is every country for itself. America will not survive four years of Trump. But the world will.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.
Read more articles by Philip Yeung:
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