US president makes ‘ America first’ priority in early months
As Donald Trump is reaching the 100th day of his presidency, many US media outlets have been hyping up his low approval ratings in opinion polls across the country. But objectively speaking, the political novice’s strategy in handling US domestic and foreign affairs over the past months has been refreshing.
He has delivered on the promises he made during the presidential campaign when handling domestic affairs. To ensure the security of the American people, lower the unemployment rate and boost the stagnant economy, Trump has bulldozed his way through with a ban on Muslims, smoothed the path for the construction of controversial oil pipelines, replaced Obamacare with a raft of healthcare policy proposals, and prepared to build a US- Mexico border wall. Some of the aforementioned measures have been put in place while others, now mired in a stalemate, are being forcefully pushed forward.
To safeguard the conservative values in American society, Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch as Supreme Court justice at the end of January and the 49- yearold federal judge was sworn in earlier this month after a 54- 45 Senate vote. This indicates that conservatives will have a majority in the country’s highest court, which will likely last for decades.
With these victories in internal affairs, Trump has displayed important qualities of a politician – highly principled, decisive, and strong- minded.
The real estate mogul- turned- politician has adopted a flexible, pragmatic way to handle foreign affairs, embarking on a trend of returning to elite politics. During his campaign, he made overtures to Russia, railed against China, showed no concerns for US allies, which, however, have changed dramatically.
Since his inauguration, he has given approval to ratify Montenegro’s accession to NATO, ordered the US military to fire a salvo of 59 cruise missiles at a Syrian government airfield, and imposed more sanctions on Moscow, calming people’s concerns about him being rigged by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Furthermore, he fundamentally changed his attitude toward Beijing after the Mar- a- Lago meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The sincerity he demonstrates in shaping US- China ties has set the pattern for future cooperation. He has also taken a series of actions to strengthen the US alliance system. Trump’s rather flexible approaches to Washington’s foreign policy are gradually easing the concerns from the rest of the world about his potentially reckless behaviors and gaining increasing recognition from the US mainstream elite.
In addition, he is realizing his “America first” policy in trade and security. Commitment to healing the country’s economic ailments and creating more jobs for middle- and lower- income groups constituted the key in his election victory. Over the past three months, he has adjusted previous economic and trade policies which had been in line with the interests of Wall Street oligarchs. He tried to satisfy the needs of his supporters.
He withdrew from the Trans- Pacific Partnership trade agreement, set to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, and reviewed the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, all of which manifests his attempt to reconfigure an industrial and market layout conducive to job creation and global distribution of American products.
More importantly, Trump has been committed to slashing expenditure for a dozen important departments including the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Labor, the State Department and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. He has sharply increased national defense spending, with an annual budget of nearly $ 600 billion, to make sure the US has superior military advantages far beyond other countries.
Regarding the North Korean nuclear issue, Trump and his administration have launched several rounds of negotiation with parties involved. The president has taken whether he can solve this intractable issue as a key criterion to measure the success of his foreign policy.
Trump’s first 100 days in office have fully displayed what the priorities of his presidency are, with articulate policy measures on the US’ foreign relations and the “America first” strategy. However, it should be noted that the highly divided political and social landscape across the US means his policies might encounter numerous setbacks and end up in failure or further aggravate the social split if they are implemented. And in the face of an international community brimming with a variety of disputes, Trump’s diplomatic policies will probably falter.
The author is a professor with the Institute of International Relations at China Foreign Affairs University. opinion@ globaltimes. com. cn