Donald Trump has multiplied the stunts and shock decisions on day 1 of his second term, among which he confirmed, last night, his intention to impose tariffs on Canada as of February 1.
“We are considering [une hausse des tarifs douaniers] of the order of 25% on Mexico and Canada, because they leave a large number of people […] enter [dans le pays]and a lot of fentanyl too,” declared the inaugurated president a few hours earlier, from the White House.
Trump signed so many decrees yesterday that he broke all records in this area. And his aimed to radically change the face of the United States. In particular, he has…
declared a “national emergency” on the U.S.-Mexico border, allowing armed forces to be deployed to the border;
pardoned 1,500 Americans who took part in the riots of January 6, 2021;
withdrew the United States from the Paris Climate Accord;
canceled 78 measures put in place by President Biden.
If he signed the majority of decrees sitting behind the Oval Office, he initialed some of them to thunderous applause in the Capitol One arena in Washington.
« Showman »
True to his showmanship style of politics over the past eight years, he ended the session by throwing used pens to the crowd like a rock star.
AFP
“We find the showman president from American show business. He’s sort of picking up where he left off four years ago,” comments political scientist Rafael Jacob, associate researcher at the Raoul-Dandurand Chair in Strategic and Diplomatic Studies.
From midday, the president set the tone for the colorful day.
“This is going to change quickly,” he promised during his inauguration speech on Capitol Hill, promising to reverse America’s “decline” and usher in a “golden age.”
A “liberation”
The oldest president ever inaugurated, at the age of 78, spoke of a day of “liberation” for the United States, surrounded by the richest men in the country, such as Elon Musk, SpaceX, Mark Zuckerberg, from Facebook, and Jeff Bezos from Amazon.
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AFP
In front of his predecessor Joe Biden, who listened to him without showing the slightest emotion, the 47th president listed a first series of announcements, all striking the imagination, but some difficult to implement.
AFP
AFP
“This is the first time in the modern era that an American president has put so much energy into galvanizing his base at the start of his last term,” noted political scientist Rafael Jacob.
His decrees will be difficult to apply, he believes. If these come into force immediately, they can be challenged quickly in court.
Upcoming dispute?
The president is not immune to popular protests either.
For example, “when we see images on social networks and major media of people arrested and returned [dans le cadre des déportations massives promises par Trump]public opinion could turn against him,” says Mr. Jacob.
Among his many announcements, he promised to “take back” the Panama Canal and rename the Gulf of Mexico to “America’s”, notably provoking a fit of laughter from his former opponent, Hillary Clinton, present at the inauguration .
“God saved me so that I could make America great again,” the president said, referring to an assassination attempt against him this summer.
— With AFP
