Trump Bows to Sentiment
Published in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
(Germany) on 27 January 2026
by Nikolas Busse (link to
original)
The president’s backpedaling in Minneapolis demonstrates that his authoritarian politics absolutely does have its limits. Public debate remains a corrective, just like elections.
American democracy need not be written off as quickly as often happens these days. That Donald Trump is backpedaling in Minneapolis is a result of the media, the opposition, parts of his party, the courts, and lobby groups not wanting to accept that U.S. citizens are getting shot when they exercise their right to protest, even if they are armed.
As in the case of Greenland, Trump needs to consider the damage that threatens to hit his party during the midterm elections in November. He can hope to regain approval beyond the Make America Great Again base with a deportation policy that focuses more on convicted criminals and those with deportation orders, instead of combing through (Democratic) cities paramilitary-style.
Noem’s Bias
All that won’t resurrect the two people who were killed in Minneapolis, however, and the question remains whether these cases will ever be independently investigated. The crudeness and bias that Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem is demonstrating doesn’t suggest that they will be, even if Trump has sidelined her for now.
The fundamental problem remains the president’s kingly style of governance, which leads to his people focusing primarily on his favor, rather than the common good. But there are weapons against that in the U.S. system of checks and balances. There is a good reason why Democrats now want to change the powers of the Department of Homeland Security in Congress.
American democracy need not be written off as quickly as often happens these days. That Donald Trump is backpedaling in Minneapolis is a result of the media, the opposition, parts of his party, the courts, and lobby groups not wanting to accept that U.S. citizens are getting shot when they exercise their right to protest, even if they are armed.
As in the case of Greenland, Trump needs to consider the damage that threatens to hit his party during the midterm elections in November. He can hope to regain approval beyond the Make America Great Again base with a deportation policy that focuses more on convicted criminals and those with deportation orders, instead of combing through (Democratic) cities paramilitary-style.
Noem’s Bias
All that won’t resurrect the two people who were killed in Minneapolis, however, and the question remains whether these cases will ever be independently investigated. The crudeness and bias that Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem is demonstrating doesn’t suggest that they will be, even if Trump has sidelined her for now.
The fundamental problem remains the president’s kingly style of governance, which leads to his people focusing primarily on his favor, rather than the common good. But there are weapons against that in the U.S. system of checks and balances. There is a good reason why Democrats now want to change the powers of the Department of Homeland Security in Congress.
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