In his first month as president, Donald Trump has begun a bloody two-front war. On one end, he barrages the American people in an aggressive incursion into our most sacred and holy spaces. He has bullied our most vulnerable as he guts fundamental government functions and nominates the worst our country has to offer to its most powerful posts. Likewise, when turning his attention away from America, he collides into the entire rest of the world with unambiguously erratic threats.
It didn’t have to be this way. In all three of his campaigns for public office, Trump has fashioned himself the candidate of peace. First, rallying against Bill Clinton and Joe Biden’s past support for the Iraq war and then the Biden-Harris administration’s staunch support for both Ukraine and Israel. In his latest run, Trump had all the ammunition he needed. Polling from Gallup finds that American support for involvement in Ukraine has sagged as funding perpetually increases. From March to December of 2024, American support for immediately ending the war rose 7%, reaching its highest level since the war began. Similarly, Biden’s handling of the conflict in Palestine has left a powerful stain on the Democratic Party. In staying by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s side through his needlessly cruel invasion of Gaza, Biden lost what little credibility he had as an anti-war president.
Trump found ease and immediate success running against the endless blunder that was the past administration’s foreign policy position. He argued that American tax dollars had no place in Ukraine and elevated Russian propagandists who argue American aggression was what started the conflict in the first place. Additionally, when discussing Palestine, Trump simply positioned himself as the candidate that was not Joe Biden. He made vague sweeping statements about peace and a hostage deal while claiming credit for the most recent ceasefire deal crafted in the last weeks of the Biden administration. Importantly, though, no matter what he says, Donald Trump is addicted to an archaic American idea that argues we must invade anything and everything.
Through his first term, Trump revealed exactly how he intended to engage with the rest of the world. In dealing with countries like Iran and North Korea, Trump consistently chose the illogical path. By pulling us out of the Iran nuclear deal, also known as the JCPOA, he quickly nixed all diplomatic progress and accelerated Iran’s path towards a nuclear bomb. Similarly, when engaging Kim Jong-Un and North Korea, Trump dropped so many empty insults and bizarre threats of nuclear attack that control of American troops stationed in the region was essentially taken from him. Beginning his second term, Trump picked up right where he left off.
Now more vengeful and demented than ever, he has moved to extend the lifeblood of forever wars across the globe and taken aim at bizarre new targets to satisfy the American war-machine. Most recently, Trump suggested that Israel turn over the Gaza Strip to America to be turned into the “riviera of the Middle East.” Alongside that proposal, Trump insisted that Palestinians leave their home and migrate to neighboring Jordan and Egypt. Not only is the plan needlessly complicated and unrealistic, it’s brutish. As other countries advocate for a permanent ceasefire and eventual two-state solution, America stands alone in its call for more blood to be spilled. On the other hand, in Ukraine, Trump has effectively endorsed Putin’s warped imperial ambitions. While cancelling previously approved military shipments, he has proposed future aid conditions that necessitate Ukraine essentially turning over its economy to America. Under the guise of bringing peace, Trump sides with the imperial aggressor and gives up any hope for a lasting break in violence.
In his first month, Trump has doubled down on his imperial ambitions. He continues to insist that the Gulf of Mexico is now the Gulf of America and that the Panama Canal should be ours to own. Worse, he has pledged to make Canada our 51st state and to annex Greenland; he has refused to rule out deployment of our military to make any of these visions a reality. As in his first term, Trump continues to usher in chaos and purposeless violence across the world. However, in a marked difference from his first stint as President of the United States, Trump is now completely unrestrained in his delusions. The guardrails are off and the president is running around guns blazing.
Griffin Weiss is an opinion writer at The Gavel. He is currently a freshman at Boston College, majoring in history. Griffin wrote for his high school paper, the Science Survey, eventually serving as Editor in Chief in his fourth and final year. Now writing for The Gavel, Griffin specializes in writing about activism on campus and current events in his articles.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.