The coming months may be especially dangerous for the US and the world

SINGAPORE (Nov 19): The drama of US President Donald Trump’s presidency has centred around whether an extremist president would be able to carry out an extremist policy agenda against the will of the majority of Americans. So far the answer has been no, and the midterm elections make it far less likely. Yet Trump’s rising frustrations could push him over the edge psychologically, with potentially harrowing consequences for American democracy and the world.

None of Trump’s extremist policy ideas has received public support. The public opposed last year’s Republican-backed corporate tax cut, Trump’s effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), his proposed border wall with Mexico, the decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear agreement and the imposition of tariff increases on China, Europe and others. At the same time, contrary to Trump’s relentless promotion of fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas), the public favours investments in renewable energy and remaining in the Paris climate agreement.

Trump has tried to implement his radical agenda using three approaches. The first has been to rely on the Republican majorities in the two houses of Congress to pass legislation in the face of strong popular opposition. That approach succeeded once, with the 2017 corporate tax cut, because big Republican donors insisted on the measure, but it failed with Trump’s attempt to repeal Obamacare, as three Republican senators balked.

---

Related Stories

• The Brics still don’t matter
• Managing Singapore’s national savings in a troubled world
• Cruel, cruel summer

---