A World Superpower Lead by the Orange-Looking Man: America’s Fate After Trump’s Landslide Victory

After a heated and somewhat comedic presidential race, Donald Trump has become the United State’s president-elect with a whopping 312 electoral votes to Harris’ 226. However, is this re-election of the United States' 45th president a call to victory for the masses, or are the rest of the American populace afraid for the ramifications of Trump’s policies and attitudes towards government, minorities, and the economy? What are the consequences of Trump’s re-election and why should his re-election matter to us? This article will answer all these questions and give insight from Cooper’s A-Level Politics teacher Mr. Sumana! 

Firstly, before Trump’s policies and their effects are analyzed, they must be outlined and compared to those of his former opposition, Kamala Harris.

One of Trump’s main, and possibly concerning policies is the upholding of the second amendment of the American Constitution, which states it is “ the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” and has been described as a “true palladium of liberty”. However, because there were 36 school shooting incidents as of July 11th, 2024 in the U.S.A, this policy to uphold the Second Amendment could be seen as foolhardy as it is likely to propagate and possibly increase the likelihood of events such as these. On the other hand, Harris, although being a gun owner, intended to put stricter restrictions on gun possession and the use of arms by citizens. This appears to be a rational policy, but is the issue truly with arms possession or the desire for violence among American citizens? 

In addition to this, under Trump’s tenure is to  “end inflation and make America affordable again” by cutting energy costs through drilling for oil accompanied by other strategies such as lowering interest rates (even though he is not in control of them), raising import taxes,  and deporting immigrants to lower housing pressures. Harris on the other hand would tackle this issue through supply-side policies that as president she would be able to influence. Trump’s inflation policy may work in the short run for America, but oil is a non-renewable resource that is bound to become depleted, lowering interest rates could be inflationary, and raising import taxes could increase living costs because as of 2022, 15.5% of goods and services in America were imported. So, is Trump going to be able to “make America affordable again” or is he going to lead the country’s economy into a downward spiral?

Furthermore, an issue facing “first-world countries” is immigration pressures, which Trump has decided to tackle by continuing the building of his $21.6 billion wall, increasing the level of enforcement on the border, and promising mass deportation of migrants, which experts say will face legal challenges. Harris, on the other hand, in her campaign, advocated for a more humanitarian strategy through passing legislation and making regional investments in reducing the flow of migrants. Other than the legal financial concerns of Trump’s immigration policies, migrants make up 19% of America’s workforce as of June 2024 and participate at higher levels than native-born Americans. Hence, migrants provide immense support to the American economy, and removing them could have big consequences for the labor force and economy.

Additionally, with the Ukraine war and the Israel-Palestine conflict on everyone's minds and feeds, Trump’s isolationist approach toward international conflict is alarming. Is keeping America “safe” through distance from foreign conflict, while supporting Israel, a valid policy when millions are dying daily and the world is descending into a discordant anarchy of death and suffering? Moreover, his claim to end the Russo-Ukraine conflict in 24 hours through a settlement with Vladimir Putin, someone who has shown is more concerned with his rationale rather than reason, is hedonistic and borderline egotistic. 

Another policy and a matter that has been in contention recently is abortion and whether or not it should be legal. While Trump has not made any overt statements concerning the legality of abortions, looking at the fact that the two judges he appointed to the Supreme Court were the deciding factor in overturning the constitutional right to have an abortion, it could be argued that he is aiming to abolish the right to have an abortion. Moreover, from the nature of his right-wing policies and social attitudes toward women, this notion does have some merit. Harris, on the other hand, intended to push for laws that would protect the reproductive rights of women. Trump’s re-election could mean that women’s reproductive rights and independence in general could be in jeopardy.

However, what does this all mean for us in the UK? Well, this answer is clouded in uncertainty as it really could go either way because from Foreign Secretary David Lammay referring to Trump as a “racist and KKK/neo-Nazi sympathizer” and a “tyrant in a toupee”, to Prime Minister, Keir Starmer spending much of his time in New York with the president-elect, the UK-US relationship truly is in obscurity. However, some, such as Paul Daves of Capital Economics, project that Trump’s higher import tariffs could result in UK mortgages staying high for longer. 

Overall, Trump’s election poses a myriad of uncertainties for citizens of both the UK and the US, and only time will tell the effect of his re-election.

By Ifeoluwa Ajayi-Obe