During the inaugural hour of his second term on Monday, Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders indicating a distinctive shift in US Policy that advances the new president's "America first" vision.
In an extensive press conference from the Oval Office, Trump outlined his strategy for addressing issues ranging from trade conflicts to TikTok.
Are Trump's policy actions transactional?
The 'day one' actions bring into question whether Trump is a 'Transactional president.'
Since the start of Trump's campaign, including his election pledges, much of his policies is about money and what is in it for America.
Also, his plans line up with the strategies outlined in his book called 'The Art of the Deal.' To start with, his global tariff threat is a negotiating tactic.
Now, Trump has started a bidding war for his first foreign visit, saying if Saudi Arabia or any nation spent 500 million dollars on US Goods, they could be top of the list.
Even his negotiations for Greenland and the Panama Canal are driven by the economics behind it rather than a political agenda.
The transition by Silicon Valley magnates in favour of Trump is another example.
Tesla's Elon Musk, amazon's Jeff Bezos, apple's Tim Cook, Google's Sundar Pichai, and Meta's Mark Zuckerberg were present with Trump at a pre-inauguration ceremony and took up prominent positions at the inauguration.’
Some are calling his U-turn towards the crypto industry also stems from this transactional nature.
The digital assets industry donated heavily during his campaign and set up a 'crypto inaugural ball' in Trump's honour.
That is apart from donations to his inauguration fund.
(With the inputs from the agencies)