While some Americans worry that a second term with Donald Trump at the helm may sound the death knell for democracy, there are questions also arising as to what it would mean for the rest of the world.
The concern is that US alliances with Asia may weaken. With Big Bear a constant threat to Europe and China a competitor, alliances are very important.
For one thing, the purchasing power of China’s GDP may be bigger than the European Union or the United States but if both are put together, China’s GDP is far smaller,
Another Trump presidency?
There will also be implications for the economy globally. If Trump becomes president he is planning to introduce a 10% across-the-board tariff on all imports. This could do a lot of damage to the World Trade Organisation.
Trump might also make Russia go against China like what Nixon did against the Soviet Union.
On December 4, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg published a special edition titled If Trump Wins issue stating what would happen if the twice impeached, four-time indicted candidate wins. It would in short, he said shred norms, weaponise the government, warp the rule of law and degrade democracy.
“We can’t participate in the normalization of Donald Trump. I want people to be able to hand this issue to people… who are still unsure about the nature of Trump’s authoritarianism.”
“I would prefer journalists to speak plainly about what they’re seeing. And I believe that a second Trump term poses a threat to the existence of America as we know it,” he said.
Any Anti-Trump Elements?
Goldberg also said that since it was a given that the media is pro-democracy, the dilemma they currently face is that being pro-democracy translates to them being anti-Trump. That also does not help their cause and in fact turns away readers.
He warned of a new Trump presidency or his second term in power may start with silencing of the press.
He said that Trump thinks of the pro-democracy elements as enemies of the state, and there are consequences for those that come with this belief.
There’s a chance that Trump would try to somehow criminalize reporting in a second term, and this is why they are sounding the alarm, along with the more generalized threat to American democracy.
Cover Photo: Wikipedia