His moves are a crude blow to what America used to stand for
A new world order emerged after World War II, largely engineered by the United States. It was capitalistic yet collaborative and valued capitalism over cronyism, rules over chaos, and communication over brutishness. It served the US very well and America bankrolled it disproportionately – this was basically the deal. It served most of the world pretty reasonably too: billions were raised from poverty, Europe was rebuilt and the Cold War was won by the good guys, meaning the West.
People who understand all this mostly voted against Donald Trump, because he cares not a pfennig for any of these things. But for anyone out there who still needs a reminder of how devastating his November win was for the interests of the US, and for the values the West was supposed to represent, his first week offered a generous helping of it.
The week began with an inaugural address that underscored the speaker’s breathtaking lack of class and grace. He heaped invective on his aged predecessor who sat there listening (“My recent election is a mandate to completely and totally reverse a horrible betrayal“), incited against “a radical and corrupt establishment has extracted power and wealth from our citizens,” bragged about himself (“I have been tested and challenged more than any president in our 250-year history“), waved needless sabers (America will again be a nation that “expands our territory”) and motored on with the catastrophist nonsense that powered his campaign (“ the pillars of our society lay broken“).
Let us survey the wreckage that followed.
Leaving the World Health Organization (WHO)
Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the WHO was one of the earliest moves to demonstrate his administration’s disdain for multilateral cooperation. The WHO plays a critical role in coordinating global health responses, particularly during pandemics. By stepping away, the U.S. forfeited its leadership position, leaving a vacuum that other powers, like China, are eager to fill. Such a withdrawal undermines global stability, raises the economic costs of health emergencies, and disrupts international collaboration essential for pandemic prevention and response. If there is another global pandemic, the damage will be mind-blowing.
Leaving the Paris Climate Accord
Another significant withdrawal was Trump’s decision to leave the Paris Climate Accord. This agreement, signed by nearly every nation, was a landmark effort to combat climate change through collective action. The U.S., as one of the world’s largest emitters of greenhouse gases, played a crucial role in negotiating the accord, and its departure leaves America in the inglorious company of only Iran, Yemen and Libya. Abandoning it (for a second time!) not only damages America’s credibility but also reduces global momentum in addressing climate change. Climate change poses significant risks to US economic stability, including increased costs from more frequent and severe natural disasters, rising insurance premiums, and adverse impacts on industries like agriculture and tourism. Staying in the accord would have positioned the US as a leader in clean energy innovation, opening new markets and creating jobs while mitigating these economic risks. The basic motivation here is, essentially, preserving the planet’s livability for our immediate future generations. Indifference to this – amid infantile chanting of “drill, baby, drill” – is basically an assault on all humanity.
Cancelling Birthright Citizenship
Trump’s executive order to cancel birthright citizenship, a right enshrined in the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, was another deeply controversial proposal. Birthright citizenship guarantees that anyone born on U.S. soil is automatically a citizen, a principle that has been a cornerstone of American identity. Putting aside that this will alienated immigrant communities (who play a critical role in the US economy, contributing to innovation, entrepreneurship, and labor markets), it will discombobulate something essential about the American character – it is not a nation state. The move is also just plain stupid, because upending the Constitution is so hard that the US couldn’t even pass an Equal Rights Amendment for women (yes, the Republicans opposed it) – so you cannot just do it, and a judge has mercifully already blocked it. It’s basically a dog whistle for nativists.
Suspending All Foreign Aid Except for Israel and Egypt
The administration’s suspension of all foreign aid except for Israel and Egypt represented a radical departure from decades of bipartisan foreign policy. Foreign aid is a critical tool for advancing US strategic interests, promoting stability, and fostering economic development in fragile regions. It is also a sort of tithe for supremely rich countries (America remains by some reasonable benchmark’s the world leader in wealth) – and it isn’t a tenth of anything, either: the $63 billion the US spent on this item in 2023 was 1% of the federal budget and less than one 400th of GDP (the US military budget, by comparison, approaches a trillion dollars). Trump spared Israel (an anyway rich ally) and Egypt (which is too important), but by cutting aid to all others, he signaled a transactional approach to diplomacy that prioritized short-term gains over long-term stability. This decision risked destabilizing regions critical to U.S. economic interests, potentially disrupting supply chains and reducing trade opportunities. Additionally, instability in these regions could increase security costs for the US as rival powers like China and Russia exploit the void left by diminished American influence. Or, put another way: China will step in. Smart move.
Boosting the Death Penalty
The death penalty was thrust back into prominence during Trump’s first week, with a new executive order titled “Restoring the Death Penalty and Protecting Public Safety” which reverse’s Biden’s moratorium on federal executions (many US states can still carry them out). While capital punishment has always been a divisive issue, Trump’s aggressive push to expand its use is deeply troubling. Evidence consistently shows that the death penalty is not an effective deterrent to crime. Studies indicate that states with the death penalty do not experience lower rates of violent crime than those without it. Moreover, the US system has a long history of racial bias and wrongful convictions, making the use of capital punishment fraught with injustice. Almost unbelievably, Trump is also seeking the right to overrule the Supreme Court on executions. Almost no democracies still have the death penalty, and it is banned in the entire European Union (also in Britain). Memo to Trump: If it’s public safety that keeps you up at night, do something about the US being the only developed country that allowed allows almost unfettered access to firearms, enabling widespread gun violence and racking up world-beating figures on homicide and massacres.
Mass Pardons for Jan. 6 Rioters
Another move that won’t help public safety was Trump’s pardons for nearly all those involved in the January 6 Capitol attack (and dismissal of the cases). This proclamation issued full, unconditional pardons to over 1,500 individuals charged or convicted in connection with the events of that day, including prominent figures such as Enrique Tarrio, former leader of the Proud Boys, and Stewart Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers – and a great many clearly violent people. The move contradicted earlier assurances from Republican officials during the 2024 campaign, who had pledged that those involved in the Capitol riot would not receive pardons (Vice President JD Vance’s actually told “Fox News Sunday” this month that “if you committed violence on that day, obviously you shouldn’t be pardoned”). Words fail me, but luckily we have those of the Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell: He has referred to the attack as a “failed insurrection” and explicitly pointed to Trump as a key instigator of the “violent attack on the Capitol for the purpose of trying to prevent the peaceful transfer of power after a legitimately certified election” – and this week he criticized the pardons, which he said were based on a “revisionist myth” involving widespread fraud in the 2020 election.
Considering the Disbanding of FEMA
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is critical for disaster response, recovery, and preparedness – and given the climate stupidity we are about to be needing it more. Trump is now talking about eliminating FEMA which would leave states and municipalities unprepared for large-scale emergencies, such as hurricanes and wildfires. This proposal would exacerbate the human and economic toll of natural disasters, disproportionately harming vulnerable communities and undermining national resilience. It would save 0.5% of the federal budget.
Proposing to Disband the Department of Education
Lest we forget, Trump is also seeking to disband the Department of Education, though he has not yet taken action (and it would require an act of Congress). The DoE ensures equal access to education, sets federal funding priorities, and enforces civil rights laws in schools. This notion risks widening disparities in education funding and quality. Without federal oversight, disadvantaged communities would face further setbacks, weakening the nation’s long-term competitiveness by failing to equip future generations with essential skills. Essentially, it is part and parcel of the Republicans’ disdain for the federal government and preference for turning America into a collection of quasi-countries – each of which, in this context, could do as it pleases with education, including cancelling free public elementary school. Yo, “Grand” Old Party: Are you absolutely sure that this is the way to make America “great” again?
Trump is right to want to shut down illegal immigration, better control crime, and so on; many rational people share such goals. His policies, however, and a mishmash of foolishness, excess and ignorance. Together, the actions and proposals from Trump’s first week in office illustrate a pattern of governance that prioritizes disruption over deliberation, ideology over evidence, and division over unity. They collectively represent a broad shift away from the principles and policies that have underpinned American leadership and prosperity for decades.
These early actions were not just disruptive but a repudiation of the rational part of the country, the value of expertise, and the importance of facts-based analysis. While some policies might have theoretical merit, they were pursued not through careful deliberation but through a frenzied mania devoid of internal dialectic. This was less a strategy and more a wild lashing out against the norms and institutions that have defined the modern era.
Down the road are punitive tariffs which will are opposed by almost every economist and will mainly drive up prices for the US consumer, though the clueless president appears not to comprehend this.
We simply have to face an uncomfortable truth: democracies often get the leadership they deserve. The election of someone who revels in dismantling structures rather than improving them and both proudly ignorant while mulishly hubristic raises profound questions about the values and priorities of the electorate. Perhaps this is the natural trajectory of a society that has devalued expertise and embraced instant gratification over thinking.
Maybe there will be a backlash; maybe not. Either way, I am reminded of a moment from historical lore. The phrase “let them eat cake” (“Qu’ils mangent de la brioche”) is commonly attributed to Marie Antoinette, the Queen of France during the French Revolution, and is interpreted as an expression of her indifference to the plight of the starving peasants, who were unable to afford bread, their staple. We don’t know whether she really said it. Trump actually is — though what’s on the menu is something other than cake.
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