Trump's presidency should be a walk in the park compared to Obama's

All thought that Britain delivered the most shocking news of the year when it exited the EU in June, but America beat Britain again

 

Donald Trump’s shock win to become the 45th president of the United States caught many by surprise given the fact that his rival, Hillary Clinton had enjoyed a consistent margin going into the elections. Trump has never been shy to controversy. His comments on religion, race, the economy and even the U.S foreign policy had undertones of hatred that only his supporters couldn’t notice. That said, he now faces a greater challenge of making good some of his campaign promises, including the one about making America great again.

Going into the polls, the U.S stock markets tumbled by over 5 per cent when there were all indications that Trump was going to win. However, the real reaction to the win was witnessed on the global front where there was much simultaneous frenzy and panic in most markets. Trump has vowed to exit the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement that remains Obama’s legacy in the 12 nations union. He is also on record saying that free trade agreements work counterproductively, a situation that caused the Asian markets to plunge following his win. Going forward, maybe the president elect should reconsider some of his policies and disregard his earlier sentiments concerning some key issues, affecting not just America but the world too. It’s hard to know at this stage just how serious Trump’s policy proposals are, or what portion of them Congress will allow him to fulfil. He has more freedom in foreign policy areas than in the domestic arena.

As the markets try to get a sense of what kind of team Trump will put in place, there is bound to be some volatility in the weeks ahead. Eventually though, the markets will stabilize. The Federal Reserve might decide not to raise rates in December, given the uncertainty, while a Republican-controlled Congress might push through substantial tax cuts — possibly not what the investors wanted.

On tax reform, Trump has said that he will cut taxes without increasing the national deficit. Policy analysts have questioned whether such a scenario is tenable and how the Government will be able to fund itself if less taxes are coming in. There are those who considered Donald Trump a ‘far-right candidate’. Indeed, such people would, what is surprising is that Hillary Clinton had incorporated some disdain for Wall Street in her campaign messages, despite the fact that she enjoyed a cordial relationship with the shadow banking complex. The question that Americans probably asked themselves before voting is how someone who received donations from the likes of Goldman Sachs, to the tune of half a million dollars, could create an economy that works for everyone.

Policy rhetoric aside, neither Trump nor Clinton delivered a clear message on how the plan to turnaround the U.S. economy would work. Both failed to release future federal budget debt and deficits if voted in. Clinton was leaning towards free trade, provided that such action does not harm the domestic business environment. Now that Trump is the president, he is likely to stick to his tax policy, which he said is still evolving, while at the same time riding on improving the global competitiveness of the United States.

The Republicans are savouring this sweet victory after taking the majority in both Congress and the House of Representatives. This means that unlike his predecessor, President Obama, Trump will have an easy time implementing his policies which include holding other nations accountable for free trade. If he makes real his threat, there is the possibility of a major fallout between the U.S and other nations who support fair trade agreements, including Britain and the EU block.

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