Donald Trump is simply doing what he does best: constant fuss

Donald Trump will only be sworn in for his second presidency in a month – but it almost seems as if he has been in office for a long time. While the outgoing incumbent Joe Biden has largely disappeared from the limelight, his successor is dominating the headlines: with wild threats, sensational announcements and the first concrete political interventions, he is causing what he does best: permanent turmoil.

In recent days, Trump has threatened Panama with the US taking over the canal there again and intervened in the budget dispute in Congress, which almost led to a shutdown of federal authorities. Even before he takes office, the right-wing populist is creating a climate of unrest and drama – which is strongly reminiscent of his first term in office from 2017 to 2021, which was a single series of turmoil, scandals and resignations.

And now he repeated his again “Wish”to annex Greenland to the USA. “In the interests of national security and freedom in the world, the United States believes that possession and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity”said Trump on his online platform Truth Social. He had already announced in 2019 that he wanted to buy the island from Denmark.

The chaos and conflicts could become even more extreme in Trump’s second term in office, also because Elon Musk, a barely less radical and ruthless power figure, is involved at his side. The tech multi-billionaire, who only a few months ago became a Trump buddy, is supposed to take over the relatively clearly defined area of ​​​​responsibility of administrative efficiency and reducing bureaucracy for the future government – but he is already intervening in all sorts of political issues, including international ones Policy:

What Trump and Musk have in common, among other things, is one thing “Disruption” – i.e. breaking down existing rules and structures – setting communication and approach. The immediate effects are often shock, chaos and confusion.

As in previous times, there is a lot of confusion about how seriously some of Trump’s announcements should be taken. For example, if he threatened to take back the Panama Canal, which was once built by the USA, because of the high fees, how far would he be willing to go in an emergency to wrest the waterway from the Central American country?

However, there is also great uncertainty about what specific steps Trump could take in Ukraine policy. After his full-throated announcement from the election campaign, the war “within 24 hours” to end, he has not yet shown a way to end the fighting.

This further fuels speculation about the extent of Trump’s planned cuts in US billions in aid to Kiev as well as territorial concessions to Russia that Trump could impose on Ukraine. At a press conference a few days ago, the 78-year-old gave no information about this, but simply announced that he was talking to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin about ending the “carnage” want to speak.

“We will see even more chaos in Trump’s second term than in his first”predicts political scientist Todd Belt from George Washington University. He calls the confusion Trump has recently created one thing “good advice” on what lies ahead after his return to the White House.

Many observers expect Trump to act even more radically during his second term than during his first. The Supreme Court has given him broad immunity from prosecution, and both chambers of Congress are controlled by his Republican Party.

But since Trump’s election victory it has also become clear that he cannot count on his party’s unconditional loyalty. His ultra-right candidate for the post of Attorney General, Matt Gaetz, also encountered resistance in Republican ranks and declared his resignation. And Trump experienced another defeat with the budget compromise, which did not take into account the priorities he had set.

Friction between Elon Musk and the president himself cannot be ruled out. Because as we all know, Trump can’t stand it when others steal the show from him. The political portal “Axios” predicted problems for the Trump-Musk pact a few weeks ago: Trump knows “loyalty and fame” to appreciate his allies, but “just as long as that fame doesn’t overshadow his own”.

Trump recently made it clear with regard to Musk: “He won’t be president, I can tell you that.” Musk couldn’t become US President because… “he was not born in this country”said Trump about the multi-billionaire who grew up in South Africa and was naturalized in the USA. He just likes to be with him “intelligent people” to surround.