Trump 2.0 sets off to reshape America, redefine global equations

Donald Trump’s suspicion of China works well for India — though New Delhi will watch carefully to see if the US president strikes a deal with the Chinese that could hurt New Delhi’s strategic partnership with Washington.

Donald Trump is back as president of the United States, and in his typical style, launched his second term on January 20 with a blistering series of executive orders and threats that — if he follows through — could reshape America’s ties with the international order.

But look closely, and there are signs of cool pragmatism in Trump’s early moves and comments, which suggest that the 78-year-old might not necessarily be quite the agent of chaos that he was in his first term in office.

That’s good news for India and more broadly, for the world.

The inauguration capped a remarkable political comeback against the odds — including a series of legal cases that Trump faced during his campaign. Trump now has a popular mandate, and control of both houses of Congress. Crucially, the opposition Democrats appear defeated and unwilling — so far — to reflect on what led to the dramatic erosion in their support.

Trump can legitimately claim that even before he took office for a second time, he has delivered on a major promise he made on the campaign trail — that he would bring peace to Gaza. It is no secret that Trump’s West Asian envoy, Steve Witkoff, played a decisive role in pressuring Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a ceasefire deal that outgoing US President Joe Biden had pitched and even announced in the summer of 2024.

Meanwhile, billionaires and tech titans — from Elon Musk to Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg — have lined up behind Trump, giving the US president clout that few of his predecessors could have ever boasted.

So, what now?

On the one hand, some of Trump’s first executive orders and decisions are predictable — he has decided to pull the US out of the Paris climate agreement again, and withdraw the country from the World Health Organization, which he has accused of a pro-China bias.

Then there are the almost outlandish proposals that are a throwback to 19th century imperialism: Trump announced, during his inauguration speech, that the US would move soon to try to take over the Panama Canal, even though it’s hard to see how he can do that without an actual invasion. The US president said that Washington would rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America — that’s something he can do, but every other country in the world can still continue calling the water body the Gulf of Mexico.

Trump rolled back dozens of Biden-era executive orders, scrapping affirmative action measures and rules aimed at fighting racism and discrimination against transgender people.

But while mentioning that he has plans to enforce 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico for their alleged failure to allow undocumented migrants to enter the US, Trump was silent on day one about his previous threat to impose massive tariffs on China and India.

Now, because Trump is who he is, that could change on Day 2, or Day 3.

Yet there is evidence that he wants to reach out to China and give that relationship a shot before exploding it. He invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to the inauguration — China’s vice president attended in Xi’s stead. Trump has said he wants to have meetings and phone calls with Xi to discuss contentious issues — from trade to Taiwan.

In a significant symbolic move, Trump has made clear that he intends to take steps that could reverse the ban on TikTok, the Chinese-owned app that is wildly popular among young Americans.

Meanwhile, Trump has been clear about his friendship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Trump’s focus on ending wars in Gaza and Ukraine aligns perfectly with India’s interests. His suspicion of China works well for India — though New Delhi will watch carefully to see if the US president strikes a deal with the Chinese that could hurt New Delhi’s strategic partnership with Washington. Trump’s transactional diplomacy means that India will always have something to offer him if ties get rocky.

Trump 2.0 will still be a reality show, with daily drama, tantrums, and threats. But its biggest impact will be felt domestically. His victory in 2024 shows that the US has fundamentally changed. Now, Trump will look to go one step further: refashion America in his image.

(Charu Sudan Kasturi is a senior journalist focusing on international relations, trade, energy, and technology. Twitter: @CharuKasturi.)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.