[cs_content][cs_section parallax=”false” style=”margin: 0px;padding: 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ class=”cs-ta-left” style=”padding: 0px;”][x_blockquote cite=”” type=”left” class=”introduction”]Jesse Harrison Lowe interviewed Dr Andrew Priest about what to expect from President Donald Trump[/x_blockquote][x_image type=”none” src=”http://www.rebelessex.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/trump-cartoon.jpg” alt=”” link=”false” href=”#” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””][cs_text class=”caption”]Photo credit: Pixabay[/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][cs_section parallax=”false” style=”margin: 0px;padding: 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][cs_text]Itās not new news. Donald Trump won the 2016 Presidential election back in November, and today marks the day of the inauguration of the 45th President of the United States.
Much has been made of the businessmanās rise to political power, yet other than his aim to āmake America great againā, little is known about Trumpās plans or policy. We took it upon ourselves to learn some more about the new President. There have been significant doubts cast over Trumpās ability to fill the Oval Office, so we interviewed academic expert on America, and Essex professor, Dr. Andrew Priest, in a bid to learn some more about the star of The Apprentice turned Commander in Chief.[/cs_text][x_blockquote cite=”” type=”left” class=”quote”]”Many people in the Republican Party don’t like him, and some hate him”[/x_blockquote][cs_text]JHL: Trump made lots of promises over the course of his campaign. What is the likelihood of any of them coming to fruition?
AP: This is, of course, a very difficult question to answer because Trump is such an unusual candidate with no political experience. He has one obvious advantage at this early stage and that is that the Congress is Republican, so he should, in theory at least, be able to work more easily with it than if it was Democrat. Having said this, many people in the Republican Party donāt like him and some hate him, while his political capital will have to be used carefully. He will have it in the early stages, but it can quickly slip away, especially because he will have to think carefully about which areas he chooses to focus on. Take one of those areas: healthcare reform. At the moment, Trump and the other Republicans are generally united against āObamacareā. They seem far less clear on what will replace it, and this might soon expose some deep divisions (see Trumpās general comments in the last few days) when they donāt have Obama to complain about. On the many other issues, it will depend on which issues Trump chooses to prioritise and how much resistance he gets. Some kind of push on immigration reform seems likely. Whether this means the infamous wall will be built remains to be seenā¦
[/cs_text][cs_text]JHL: Is the Trump we see the ‘real Trump’?
AP: I canāt answer this question. Perhaps listen to that infamous tape to get a sense of the real Trump?
JHL: Would you be able to give a short forecast with regards to the US’s current relationship with Russia?
AP: As a historian, Iām reticent to make predictions, but Trumpās behaviour towards Russia is out of step with many on both sides of the political divide in the US, as both Democrats and Republicans regard Russia with suspicion. Following last weekās ārevelationsā about Trumpās visit to Russia, as well as the reports of Russian hacking, who knows what will happen, but I wonder whether Trumpās re-set of relations with Russia and Putin will be as easy as he thinks. Others, including the Obama admin, have tried to do it and failed. The main issue this exposes is Trumpās inexperience and willingness to oppose a government agency, the CIA, while appearing to be more supportive of a foreign nation, with which the US has had a difficult relationship. This is, frankly, bizarre and does not bode well. I expect heāll have to modify his position or face domestic opposition in the future.
[/cs_text][x_image type=”rounded” src=”http://www.rebelessex.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Donald_Trump_by_Gage_Skidmore_2.jpg” alt=”” link=”false” href=”#” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=”” class=”image”][cs_text class=”caption”]Photo credit: Gage Skidmore@2011[/cs_text][x_blockquote cite=”” type=”left” class=”quote”]”The main issue this exposes is Trump’s inexperience and willingness to oppose a government agency”
[/x_blockquote][cs_text]JHL: There have been growing comparisons between Reagan’s presidency and predictions for Trump’s. Can these comparisons be deemed valid?
AP: The comparisons with Reagan are mostly Trumpās own as far as I can see because Reagan is loved by conservatives in the US and heās hoping that some of Reaganās stardust rubs off on him. There are a few things that seem Reaganesque, especially cutting taxes (almost certainly for the rich) and increased spending on the military. Other areas seem to be a bit less so. Trump has talked about a big public works programme that Reagan would be deeply suspicious about (again, whether Trump will be able to do it is open to question). More broadly, I can see that Trumpās populist rhetoric is somewhat appealing to similar constituents as Reagan, although Trump speaks very differently from the way Reagan did. I would always urge caution when making these kinds of historical comparisons, but one president Trump does remind me a bit of is Richard Nixon. Nixon was a very odd character, who exploited peopleās fear at a time of great uncertainty, especially by focusing on law and order and changing the nature of American foreign policy (although differently from Trumpās ideas). One very big difference is that Nixon was publicly quite staid and really let rip in private. Trump is very public about people he doesnāt likeā¦ But both Reagan and Nixon had political experience. Nixon had been a Senator and Vice-President. Reagan was involved in the movies, but he had then become a political figure, first in a small way as president of the Screen Actors Guild and then as Governor of California. Trump, on the other hand, is a businessman who became a reality TV star.
JHL: To what extent could Trumps rhetoric impact how the world views progressivism in America?
AP: I think it already has. Just think of the contrast with Obama. Itās impossible to imagine him doing anything of the things that Trump has done and said. For me, the rhetoric is important here. Obama has actually been harsh on immigration, deporting many illegal immigrants. Yet itās the language that Trump uses that people take notice of, in the US and beyond, whether itās about Mexicans, Muslims, women, or whoever. This gives licence to certain people and groups and marginalises others, especially minorities. Perhaps more than this, however, I think many people around the world are simply baffled that Americans could have elected someone like Trump.
Our thanks go to Andrew for taking the time to answer our questions, and give a clearer indication of what we can expect from the Trump presidency. Much has been predicted to change in the United States under Trump and today signals the start of that process. Only time will tell how different the world is once Trump has left office.
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