The Trump era: how is society changing?
Beyond hectic discussions about the disruptive measures announced almost daily by the Trump administration, European media take stock of the potential far-reaching, longer-term transformations that have taken place since the change of government in the US. Commentators speculate on how the country and society will develop during Trump's second term as president.
Deconstruction of civilised relations
Historian Anne-Sarah Moalic-Bouglé warns in Ouest-France:
“The so-called anti-woke policy is in fact a Trojan horse for the deconstruction of society as it has progressed over recent decades. The anti-feminist positions must be seen in the context of the other statements by Donald Trump and Elon Musk: limiting state regulation of information, expansionist goals in regard to Greenland, the Panama Canal and Canada, economic isolationism. ... All these projects are simply aimed at breaking down the framework, the moral and legal norms that have slowly been constructed to ensure more peaceful and civilised relations, whether between people or countries.”
Stand up for our convictions
Eldiario.es clarifies:
“This is not just about aluminium, steel and cars. It's about ideas and models of society. Just as the war in Ukraine was and is not just about Crimea and Donbas. Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump are both driven by an aversion to liberal democracy and nostalgia for former empires. ... This is not a fit of madness, this is a strategy. It won't just pass on its own. To fight it, we must mobilise the resources of our democracies, change the structures of the EU and commit to the values they want to destroy. There's a new sheriff in Washington, Vice President Vance declared. These people won't stop until someone makes it clear to them in the only language they understand that we prefer 'civil defence' here [word play on 'Guardia Civil' in the original].”
Swift and ruthless
Trump is going with the flow of the times, fears Luciano Violante, former president of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, in Corriere della Sera:
“Trump is implementing a model of brutalist, anti-aesthetic, unconventional, maladjusted, unscrupulous and disrespectful democracy. ... Unfortunately, this is in tune with the course of history. The sign of our times, induced by digital technologies and the paradigm of global competition, is swift decisions and implementation. A swiftness that is lacking in today's democratic processes. Trump, by contrast, expresses political vigour and determination with unambiguous crudity. He contravenes the sometimes hypocritical categories of liberal democracy: respect for others, respect for truth, pluralism, multilateralism, tolerance of differences.”
Bending the separation of powers to the limit
Writing in Tvnet, communications expert Sandra Veinberga looks at the balance of power in the US:
“In the Senate, Trump's opponents could block many of his initiatives. This is significant because the US political system is based on the separation of powers between the president, Congress and the courts. ... Vance has repeatedly floated the idea that the White House may not be able to comply with the judges' rulings. Meaning that the Trump camp is actually preparing for a fight with the constitution to gain new powers for the president. In other words they want to turn the US into a copy of Putin's Russia.”