International media has been too eager to judge the time since US President Donald Trump won the presidential elections last year. It was on November 9, 2016 that the United States elected the real estate baron to lead the most powerful nation on earth. His 10 months in office have been outrageously tumultuous. From naming his Democratic challenger Hillary Clinton ‘crooked Hillary’ to naming North Korean leader Kim Jong un ‘Little Rocket Man’, Trump has been bellicose, brash and often prickly.
Trump’s histrionics spilled over from his campaign into his office. Berating the media was a favourite pastime of the President who liked to rip into New York Times, once chiding its journalist — “You are fake news.” His love-hate relationship with newspapers and television media outlets made him the stuff of many tales not always to the liking of the Republican Party. It is true that the stock market is doing well during the former reality television star’s term. Moreover, the US economy is not wobbly and even unemployment is down. The United States is the largest economy in the world and a healthy outlook among the coffers and corporations bodes well for global financial health. It is on these counts that the Trump administration has scored well.
The Republican President cannot be economical with words. He is often seen repeating phrases while addressing the press or other gatherings. From threatening North Korea with decimation to squinting at the Solar
eclipse to being the subject of intense debate among the chatterati about his sartorial tastes, for the new US President it’s more about sound bites than a serious disposition.
Over the year, trump has been criticized by Republican Senator and Vietnam War veteran John McCain and many of his own party members. Opposition to Trump had surged at one point during his presidency, but the high-profile tycoon managed to staunch all resistance. Trump’s reconciliatory tone towards the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) has contrasted with his denunciation of the military alliance during his election campaign. The most controversial issue since Trump won the presidency has been his alleged collusion with Russia that critics say may have affected the results of the presidential elections and booted out Hillary. The Democratic contender has written about the loss and what went behind it in her memoir — What Happened.
How Presidential historians will rate the 45th President of the United States is a vexed issue and incumbent upon his performance later in his term. Some have compared the White House chaos under Trump with that under president Richard Nixon who had to resign in wake of the Watergate scandal. History judges leaders and so will it judge Trump who belongs to the party of Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan. However, one year may be too short a time to judge his performance.
