The world won’t end this Friday and we need to allow Trump his 100 days
DESPITE what many left- leaning commentators would have people believe, the world as we know it will not end this weekend.
At around noon on Friday in Washington, Donald Trump will take a bible in his hand and be sworn in as the 45th President of the United States by Chief Justice John Roberts.
Trump’s inauguration will usher in a period of enormous uncertainty but it is unlikely – at least in the short term – to lead to the terrifying upheavals that Trump’s many opponents on the left and right have forecast.
In truth, no one will really be able to see what the Trump presidency may have in store for the USA and wider world for several months.
The first 100 days often define a Presidency and so it might be wiser to hold off on judging Trump’s administration until April 29.
Trump has pledged to do much in his first 100 days in office, including appointing judges to defend the right to bear arms; starting work on his notorious Mexican wall; repealing Obamacare and re-assessing trade deals with several countries.
It is highly unlikely that he will be able to do much, if any, of that and come the end of April – faced with actual evidence about how the Trump administration does its business – we may well see that there is much less to fear from the business mogul’s presidency than first thought.
Since his election Trump has continued to speak and act recklessly but we don’t know how he will behave when he actually assumes office.
Many previous presidents have said that they never truly realised the enormity of the job until they actually took their seat behind the Resolute desk. We can only hope that will be the same for President Trump.
Hopefully, even Donald Trump will finally grasp the extent of the power he now possesses and perhaps that might help rein in his worst excesses.
The first 100 days will also reveal what support Trump really has among Republicans in Congress and the Senate and among the senior civil servants who make up the USA’s ‘permanent government’.
These actors behind the scenes wield enormous power and influence and, as was seen during the Obama administration, they have the power to derail a President’s entire legislative agenda.
How they react to Trump and whether they choose to work with him or against him will effectively dictate just what Trump and his administration can do.
We must also remember that, despite all his bravado, thanks to the so called ‘Dirty Dossier’ on his alleged Russian links, Trump is entering office severely weakened.
We live in uncertain and possibly dangerous times but before we rush to judgement lets wait and see what unfolds. Will Trump be the next FDR, Truman or Kennedy? Probably not. Will he be the next Nixon? Only time will tell. At the very least we should give him the time to try and prove his critics wrong.