Donald Trump probably imagined being president would be easier than this.
As a property tycoon, he was used to everyone dancing to his tune and to staff carrying out his orders – sometimes with more or less gentle insistence. And now this: After not even three weeks at the levers of power, he has wreaked dizzying chaos.
Inflammatory speeches and hurdles in the Senate confirmations of highly contentious cabinet secretaries, with the vote of the vice president tipping the scales in one case, are just one example of pushback and protest. Resistance is everywhere: from the hostile media to the – according to Trump – "political" judiciary; information leaks within the White House which bear witness to confusion; the opposition at the barricades; affronted allies abroad; malice and scorn across the globe and poisonous hatchet jobs.
In one speech, the president snorted with rage. Has nearly all the world conspired against Trump – or is it not more like the other way around? No other U.S. president has managed to antagonize so many people in such a short space of time. That is a result that Trump can credit to himself alone. A newcomer who ran for president in order to turn Washington upside down has, unrestrained and against all warnings, with ludicrous speed, an inexperienced team and inadequate preparation, run crashing into a brick wall – and now heads are pounding.
Gegen die Wand gelaufen
Das Regieren hat sich Donald Trump wahrlich leichter vorgestellt.
Als Immobilien-Tycoon war er es gewohnt, dass alle nach seiner Pfeife tanzen und dass seine Mitarbeiter seine Befehle exekutieren – zuweilen mit mehr oder weniger sanftem Nachdruck. Und nun das: Nach nicht einmal drei Wochen an den Schalthebeln der Macht hat er ein schwindelerregendes Chaos angerichtet.
Brandreden und Hürden bei der Bestätigung hochgradig umstrittener Minister im Senat, bei der in einem Fall die Stimme des Vizepräsidenten den Ausschlag gab, sind nur ein Exempel für Gegenwehr und Protest. Widerstand allerorten, von den feindlichen Medien bis zur – laut Trump – „politischen“ Justiz; Informationslecks innerhalb des Weißen Hauses, die von Wirrwarr zeugen; die Opposition auf den Barrikaden; vor den Kopf gestoßene Verbündete im Ausland; Häme und Spott rund um den Globus samt giftiger Verrisse.
In einer Rede schnaubte der Präsident vor Wut. Sollte sich fast alle Welt gegen Donald Trump verschworen haben – oder ist es nicht eher umgekehrt? Noch kein US-Präsident hat es geschafft, innerhalb so kurzer Zeit so viele gegen sich aufzubringen: Das ist eine Bilanz, die sich Donald Trump ganz alleine zuzuschreiben hat. Da ist ein Newcomer, der antrat, Washington aus den Angeln zu hebeln, blindwütig und gegen jede Warnung, mit aberwitzigem Tempo, einem unerfahrenen Team und ungenügender Vorbereitung krachend gegen die Wand gelaufen – und jetzt dröhnt der Kopf.
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The crown prince’s historic visit to the US this week crowned these bilateral relations, elevating Saudi Arabia to the status of a major non-NATO ally and a trusted strategic partner.
Even Jake Sullivan, former United States president Joe Biden’s national security adviser, said “the Washington Consensus is a promise that was not kept[.]”
While China has warned of serious consequences and may impose sanctions, the U.S. frames the sale as a necessary sustainment measure for existing aircraft rather than an escalation.
Even in the earlier "Deal of the Century," Benjamin Netanyahu steered Donald Trump toward a Bar-Ilan-style bear hug: first applying Israeli law to parts of the territories, and only afterward offering a "minus Arab state."
The new landscape consolidates Riyadh’s position as a regional power, allowing it to develop political frameworks for resolving the problems after Tel Aviv failed, especially regarding the path toward a Palestinian state.
The two men—the older one from glitzy Manhattan, the younger upstart from fashionably upmarket Brooklyn—have built formidable fanbases by championing diametrically opposed visions of America.
The spread of disinformation like this is completely in line with the science-denying mindset of U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Even in the earlier "Deal of the Century," Benjamin Netanyahu steered Donald Trump toward a Bar-Ilan-style bear hug: first applying Israeli law to parts of the territories, and only afterward offering a "minus Arab state."
The new landscape consolidates Riyadh’s position as a regional power, allowing it to develop political frameworks for resolving the problems after Tel Aviv failed, especially regarding the path toward a Palestinian state.
The two men—the older one from glitzy Manhattan, the younger upstart from fashionably upmarket Brooklyn—have built formidable fanbases by championing diametrically opposed visions of America.