A Need To Prepare for Trump’s Rise

Shocking poll results have shown that the U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump can beat the prospective Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. According to the May 2 results by American pollster Ramussen Reports, Trump has received 41 percent of popular support compared to Clinton’s 39 percent, gaining the edge with a 2 percent difference. It’s true that many influential U.S. media outlets haven’t taken Trump seriously, treating his decision to run as a joke. No expert predicted that a candidate so overlooked would come so far as to become a lead runner in the race. It has been incorrectly assumed that his hasty and far-right claims would alienate him, for they place him off the chart of American common sense.

But the reality is the reality even if there are more than a hundred reasons why he should not be president. Even if the intelligentsia try to eradicate Trump, it’s hard to put a stop to the Trump tornado that has started swirling around lower class whites dismayed by poverty and unemployment. Take for example Germany, the birthplace of Beethoven and Goethe, which democratically picked a lunatic called Hitler as leader.

If the Trump phenomenon is intensifying, we must prepare in advance for his presidency. There are three major issues of concern regarding a President Trump. First, he has been ranting that he would restructure Japan-U.S. and Korea-U.S. relations because he thinks Japan and Korea are freeloading on U.S. security. If he is elected, therefore, the USFK will withdraw from Korea, and the U.S.-ROK alliance and security strategies built on the foundation of the U.S. nuclear umbrella will inevitably fail. We need to quickly come up with alternatives if this is to be the case. Secondly, Trump is eager to impose extreme protectionist policies, such as a 45 percent customs tariff on Chinese-made products. This is a grave issue for the highly U.S.-dependent Korea. Moreover, if his claims become a reality, an international trade war is bound to follow. Finally, Trump’s diplomatic advisers, unfamiliar even to Washington, are unknown in the international arena. Social networking is essential to communicate seamlessly with other countries. Better late than never; we need to formulate an appropriate response to Trump’s presidency.