As I sit here, as a teen who’s not quite an adult, I wonder how I have more competency than the president of the world’s largest economy. Not only that, but I have a deeper understanding of the sanctity of humanity, ethnicity and culture.
In his first few weeks of his second term, President Trump has done very little to commit to his promise of lowering the cost of basic goods like groceries and gas. This is what most of his voters expected from him, and has instead set out to destroy the traditional world order that has kept most countries safe since World War II. On his first day of office, for instance, he removed the U.S. from the Paris Climate Accords and the World Health Organization.
He continues to attack two of America’s closest trading partners, Canada and Mexico, by threatening tariffs of up to 25%. To put the tariffs on halt, Mexico agreed to send 10,000 troops to protect the border and limit illegal crossings, and Canada strengthened its border as shown through a $1.3 billion investment. Trump signaled he still wanted stronger fentanyl protections at the Canadian border, even though just 43 lbs was seized at the Northern border last year, compared with the 21,900 lbs at the Southern border.
Additionally, the 10,000 troops on the Southern border were already arranged to be there under the Biden administration, so little has actually changed. Both countries, in order to allow Trump to save face, seemingly backed down from their threats. Canada and Mexico should have pushed back harder and not allowed Trump any semblance of victory.
In Canada, lawmakers were prepared to fight the tariffs across all political parties, and with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s recent resignation, he is no longer looking to win the next election. Canada deserves better than to be seen as a country being bullied by its “big brother” down South.
Trump has signaled he is onto his next big tariff mission — targeting the European Union, the group with the second largest share of world trade, trailing behind China. As of 2022, the European Union traded a total of $1.3 trillion worth of products with the United States. According to the Office of the United States Trade Representative, the highest number of goods imported by the U.S. came from the EU, and the second largest amount of goods exported were also to the EU.
The EU is a massive trading partner, and they must use the threatened tariffs as an opportunity to push Trump in the right direction. Do not back down and instead fight back by hitting him back with tariffs, targeting economic damage to the U.S. The one guiding star for Trump seems to be the stock market’s performance.
Trump recently made wildly crazy comments aimed at Gaza, requesting the removal of Palestinians and his desire to create a U.S.-led “Riviera of the Middle East.”
Call it what he will, this is ethnic cleansing. There is simply no way to deny it. The removal of an ethnic group from an area meets the definition.
Not surprisingly, Middle Eastern nations have reacted negatively to this proposal. According to Reuters, Saudi Arabia rejects any call for the removal of Palestinians, along with many other nations. These countries must continue to stand up to Trump’s proposals and protect the sanctity of humanity.
There is simply one thing Trump will respond to, and that is a show of strength. Trump will respond positively to leaders who do not back down and show they are willing to fight, and as soon as the stock market takes a hit, Trump backs down.
World leaders must take this next couple of months to create a Trump containment plan. Sadly, countries no longer need a foreign policy centered on how to cooperate with the U.S. but rather a strategic plan for how to evade the worst offenses of Trump’s America.
