Donald Trump’s first month in office has been weeks of fights, chaos and dysfunction from a 'fine-tuned machine'. He hit the ground sprinting with a raft of Executive orders to stamp his authority as President of America. The Republican's four weeks have consisted of a flurry of self-inflicted wounds and poorly executed policies:
- dismantle Obamacare (Affordable Care Act) and replace it with a new Trumpcare.
- slammed the worldwide women’s marches against him for his perceived misogynistic stance.
- reinstated a ban on Monday on providing federal money to international groups that perform abortions or provide information on the option.
- withdraws the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.
- orders 'immediate construction' of the border wall with Mexico.
- signed an executive order, which barred Syrian refugees indefinitely and imposed a 90-day suspension on people from seven predominantly Muslim countries.
- Heated phone call with Turnbull Prime Minister of Australia. Relations with all Australia became strained.
- Threat to Mexico. The row with Mexico continued as President Trump threatened to send US troops to Mexico to deal with "bad hombres down there".
- Mr Trump backed down over his confrontational stance towards Beijing, committing to the ‘One China policy’ in his first phone call with Xi Jinping, the Chinese President.
President Trump launched an extraordinary attack on the news media in a wide-ranging, wild 75-minute press conference. He lampooned the mainstream media that he said was peddling "fake news". “I open the paper and I see stories of chaos, chaos,” he said. “It’s the exact opposite”.
The US has found itself in quite a turbulence, with the new president's policies seemingly dividing Americans more than ever. Among a myriad of issues, Trump has considered how to tackle Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), mulled new sanctions on Iran and has advanced US border security measures. However, there's been deep division over the new US leader's policies. Massive, and at times violent protests have sprouted across the country, and America appears to be as divided as ever. Since he took office, a lot of Americans seem a lot angrier, and political views far more polarized.
Baldev Sharma
Harrow
