As other world leaders could testify, handling President Trump is not an easy task. About a month after he was once again sworn in as the President of the US on January 20, 2025, the policy swings of the US President have been almost too many to count. From an initial 50-day window to wind up the war being conducted in Ukraine, President Trump reduced the period to just a few days. Unsurprisingly, President Putin has ignored the ultimatum.
The days when the US could command much of the world to do its bidding are over, if ever they existed. After initially speaking of converting a Gaza drained of its population through unspecified means another Riviera, Trump was unusually reticent about what he thought of the plan of Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel to depopulate Gaza. Any attempt by Israel at seeking to occupy and rule Gaza the way President George W. Bush sought to rule Iraq after toppling Saddam Hussein in 2003 could end in catastrophic consequences for Israel.
Given their history of being persecuted across millennia, the Jewish people have the right to have a state which they can call their own within secure borders. As governments are elected to office by the citizens of Israel, they have the right to ask of their government that it not imperil the security interests of Israel through any action of the state. As almost all Arab governments have said, in the interests of the people of Gaza, Hamas and its leaders should relinquish power, and its leaders go into exile in countries that would accept their presence.
From the beginning of the conflict that broke out between the Israeli Defense Forces and the military wing of Hamas in 2023, this columnist has pointed out that Hamas needed to free all the hostages it had taken captive after its terror attack on Israel in order to create the conditions needed for a ceasefire between itself and Israel. Instead, Hamas released the video of an emaciated Israeli hostage digging his own grave. That video ought to be compulsory viewing on US campuses where, during the Biden Presidency, student and even some staff protestors backed Hamas over Israel.
Being a terror organisation, Hamas has no concern towards human life, including in the enclave it has been ruling since 2005, Gaza. Had the contrary been true, the leaders of Hamas would have accepted exile rather than further prolong the agony that the people of Gaza have been enduring, especially since the war with the IDF broke out. Where Israel has been concerned, President Trump has not deviated much from his original stance of being completely supportive of Israel.
In contrast, India has not been as fortunate. Trump has bracketed India with China where the threat of imposing secondary sanctions is concerned. The most populous democracy in the world should not be treated the same as an authoritarian superpower intent on dominating the Indo-Pacific. Try telling that to the President of the US though.
Trump has shown his mettle through the way in which he fought back during the years when he was persecuted during the Biden Presidency, and it is to be hoped that he will not become a disruptive but an empowering force for countries such as India and the Philippines, that are on the front line in the battle against an authoritarian, expansionist power that is the primary challenger to the longtime US status of being the leader of the global economies.
President Trump acted wisely in pointing to VicePresident J.D. Vance as his “most likely” successor. Should that happen, given his age and his many qualities, Vance bids fair to have two full terms in the White House. As Vice-President, he has shown his loyalty to his only boss, President Trump, being content to take a low profile in the West Wing of the White House, where his office is located. Returning to the subject of dealing with Trump, the wisest course is to follow the example of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and not get provoked by some of his social media posts and utterances, but regard him as he has from the start of Trump 1.0, as a “good friend”.
Even among good friends, differences could arise, but these need to be dealt with coolly and tactfully. Certainly, India has the capacity to ride out any temporary problems caused by the imposition of secondary sanctions, but the ideal situation would be to avoid such sanctions, and surely good friends could and should discuss the problem between themselves and resolve it amicably and to mutual benefit. No solution is long lasting unless it is to the benefit of both parties. At the level of President and Prime Minister, discussions need to take place with each other through a 360-degree view.
The defence aspect, the health aspect, and other facets of governance need to be considered in the context of discussions about any particular subject. President Trump is faced with a country that is getting more polarized by the day, and as Abraham Lincoln pointed out, “A state divided amongst itself cannot stand”. It is President Trump that has the responsibility of unifying the nation where issues of common concern are concerned, such as the law and order situation.
Where there is a breakdown in the rule of law, the rule of the outlaw takes over. Rates of economic progress will fall, and the misery of the most disadvantaged will increase. It may be counter intuitive, but diversity could bring about unity. The US is a country of dizzying diversity, not just in matters of opinion but in modes of dress, preferred diets and in myriad other ways. In the land of the Free and the Brave, freedom needs to be the norm except in cases when used for hurting without just cause the interests of another person or larger social group.
President Trump was elected to serve all the people of the US, and in such a context, he needs to be shown due courtesy even in matters where opinion may be sharply divided. In the same manner, his language towards his political and other opponents should display the same courtesy towards them. It is entirely possible to disagree strongly but in a civil manner, and such needs to be the mode of conduct needing to be followed.
Such objectives may sound unrealistic in a framework becoming and more and more toxic, but at least efforts could and should be made to improve the overall ambience amongst the people of a country, thereby bringing down even if by only a little the level of toxicity. President Obama vowed to be the unifier but failed. President Trump, who has been referred to as Divider in Chief by opponents, should in contrast surprise his rising number of detractors by changing to being the Unifier in Chief.
