To hear US President Donald Trump tell it, his administration accomplished more in the 43 days since he proclaimed “the dawn of the Golden Age of America” than most administrations accomplish in four years or eight years.  

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He could have added “or ever.” In the first few tumultuous weeks of Trump’s second term in office, he launched a tariff war with America’s neighbours and China, demanded control over the Panama Canal, asked Denmark to sell Greenland to the United States, told Canada he wanted to make it the 51st state, turned his back on Europe and raised doubts over America’s commitment to NATO.

 

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In the frenetic first weeks of his second term in office, he also elevated an unelected billionaire to a position of immense power. In return for the $288 million Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, contributed to Trump’s election campaign, Musk became head of DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency. 

Trump and Musk launched a sweeping campaign to cut the size of the 2.3 million-strong federal workforce and have fired or offered buyouts so far to more than 100,000 employees.  But as Trump said in a speech to a joint session of Congress on March 4, “we are just getting started.” 

The catchy slogan of the campaign is to fight Waste, Fraud, and Abuse. It has wreaked havoc on the federal government and its implementation has been chaotic. One of the most striking examples of the lack of knowledge by members of the DOGE team, many in their early twenties, was the dismissal of the entire team of officials responsible for maintaining America’s nuclear arsenal.  

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DOGE’s systematic dismantling of the federal infrastructure has prompted anger and protests from Trump voters who believed in his campaign promises that in the promised Golden Age, the cost of living would fall, along with taxes. Instead, there have been signs of buyers’ remorse that Republican lawmakers find difficult to handle. 

Even in solidly Republican areas, outraged constituents shouted at their representatives that mass layoffs and higher prices for groceries was not what they voted for last November. Republican leaders responded by recommending that lawmakers avoid in-person town halls and opt for virtual meetings by invitation.  

On his first day in office, Trump said he expected to impose 25 per cent tariffs on Mexico and Canada and followed through with an executive order on February 1, when he added China, with a 10 percent tariff. Since then, there have been various extensions and exceptions, followed by a plan for “reciprocal” tariffs. 

Also read: Canada launches WTO complaint on US steel, aluminium tariffs

That would mean increases in US tariffs to match the rates other countries charge on imports from the US, a move that would overturn decades of trade policy. Economists predicted that would create chaos for global business. 

In a torrent of analyses and social media comment, a headline over an editorial in the Wall Street Journal stood out: The Dumbest Trade War in History. The newspaper, required reading by the finance and business community, followed up with a string of warnings that a trade war would create chaos for global business. 

Trump shrugged off such arguments. The trade war soon turned global. Most economists insist that it will lead to inflation and higher prices for goods imported by America. Tariffs, they argue, are tantamount to taxes on imported goods paid by the consumer. 

Most Americans believe that to be the case. According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll in mid-March, 70 per cent of respondents—nine in 10 Democrats and six in 10 Republicans—expected higher tariffs will make groceries and other regular purchases more expensive. 

Wall Street also has taken a dim view of the effect of the trade war. Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq composite indexes have fallen sharply in the past few weeks.  

There was a particularly deep drop on March 13 after Trump threatened 200 percent tariffs on champagne and other European wines, in response to a tariff on US whisky the European Union announced in answer to U.S. tariffs on European steel and aluminum.  Tariffs beget tariffs beget tariffs.  

Also read: Trump threatens 200% tariff on European wines, champagnes in retaliation to EU's whiskey levies

While members of Trump’s administration have stayed silent on the subject for fear of angering the boss, the video of a 1982 speech by Ronald Reagan – treated like a secular saint by the Republican Party before it became the party of Trump – has gone viral among Wall Street leaders. 

A key quote from the speech: “Over the past 200 years, not only has the argument against tariffs and trade barriers won nearly universal agreement among economists but it has also proven itself in the real world, where we have seen free-trading nations prosper while protectionist countries fall behind.”

Among the reasons Trump has given for his action on tariffs is that he wants to bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States. Cars and other high-priced products made in the US, he has said, would not be subject to tariffs.  

How long it would take to establish the infrastructure on which to build the Golden Age is anyone’s guess. 

Trump shied away from an answer in an interview about his view of the future. “There is a period of transition because what we are doing is is very big. We’re bringing back wealth to America. That’s a big thing. It takes a little time. I takes a little time.” 

Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.