‘You can’t say it’s not interesting’: America in the age of Trump 2.0
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Washington: On the morning after the pomp and pageantry of inauguration day, an American friend sent me a text message. “I still can’t believe you’re sold on this clown car of a country,” she said, in reference to the fact that I opted to leave Australia and now call the US home. “I guess you can’t say it’s not interesting!”
US President Donald Trump holds up an executive order commuting sentences for people convicted over the January 6, 2021, riots on Capitol Hill.Credit: AP
“Interesting” doesn’t come close to cutting it. In journalism, there is nothing that gets the adrenaline pumping like covering a big story − and as your North America correspondent, I’ve had the honour of covering the biggest story in the world.
But even by US standards, this week has been truly wild, and at times deeply troubling.
Four years after he left Washington in disgrace following the January 6 attack on the US Capitol building, America’s 45th president has returned as its 47th, more emboldened than ever.
As I write this, the Pentagon has announced it will deploy as many as 1500 troops to help secure the US-Mexico border in coming days, putting in motion Trump’s planned crackdown on illegal migrants entering America.
New rules have been created making it easier to fire federal employees if they are deemed insufficiently loyal to the new president and his aims.
US government staff working on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) schemes have been put on immediate paid administrative leave, and Trump has also revoked a 60-year-old executive order banning discrimination in hiring practices in government.
And yes, almost everyone involved in the deadly January 6 Capitol attack in 2021 has been pardoned for their crimes. That includes violent offenders such as Daniel Rodriguez, who applied a Taser device to the neck of DC police officer Michael Fanone while others pinned him down as they tried to stop the peaceful transfer of power.
It also includes Enrique Tarrio, head of the right-wing militia group the Proud Boys, who was convicted for his role in orchestrating the group’s actions. Let’s not forget Stewart Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers, who was convicted on charges related to seditious conspiracy for his involvement in planning and executing the breach at the Capitol on that dark day.
Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes after being released during Trump’s mass pardons for the Capitol rioters this week.Credit: AP
“They are now free,” said Fanone, who suffered a heart attack after the riots and ended up retiring from the DC police. “Donald Trump has now told the American people: If you commit crimes on my behalf, I’ve got your back.”
In some ways, we shouldn’t be surprised by Trump’s sweeping executive orders. While we are yet to see how he plans to bring down grocery prices or inflation − hip-pocket issues that drove so many voters to turn against the Biden-Harris administration − he certainly made many of his intentions clear on the campaign trail. As author and civil rights activist Maya Angelou said, “when someone shows you who they are, believe them.”
It’s also worth noting that many of Trump’s plans were telegraphed in Project 2025: the 920-page document that laid out exactly what a second Trump presidency would look like.
As a presidential candidate, Trump claimed repeatedly that he had nothing to do with the Heritage Foundation blueprint, and at one point referred to it as “absolutely ridiculous and abysmal”. But it’s no coincidence that many of the people who were authors and contributors to Project 2025 now form part of his administration, including Tom Homan (Trump’s new border tsar), Russ Vought (who will run his Office of Management and Budget), John Ratcliffe (tapped to be director of the Central Intelligence Agency) and Brendan Carr (nominated to lead the Federal Communications Commission).
But while Team Trump has set out to “shock and awe”, there are positive signs, too.
Firstly, Trump has answered more impromptu questions from journalists in two days than his predecessor Joe Biden did in years: on both the first day, as he sat in the Oval Office signing executive orders for the cameras and a small pool of reporters, and then on the second in the Roosevelt Room of the White House as he announced new AI investment for the country.
Secondly, his new Secretary of State Marco Rubio is a staunch ally of Australia and has given the strongest signal yet that the alliance between our two countries will remain strong under the new administration, regardless of which party holds power in Canberra.
Thirdly, there’s no denying that Trump’s proactive engagement, threats of “hell to pay” and direct pressure on the Israeli government played a significant role in the hostage deal in Gaza.
Whether the deal sticks is another question, but for now at least three more hostages are home and the airstrikes in Gaza are on pause. Today, Trump also warned Russia he would impose high tariffs and further sanctions if President Vladimir Putin fails to end the war in Ukraine.
As the world braces for Trump’s second presidency, it’s hard to know what the next four years will bring. But one thing is certain: it will be, in the words of my American mate, “interesting” – to say the very least.
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