EDITORIAL: Goodbye barack Obama, welcome Donald Trump
What you need to know:
- The jury is still out on whether the outgoing president, whose father was Kenyan, met those expectations. Tanzanians will, however, recall with nostalgia Mr Obama’s historic visit to the country in July, 2013.
Today, Mr Donald Trump assumes the office of the President of the United States, arguably the most powerful position in the world. As the country’s 45th President, the 70-year old business magnate will be succeeding Mr Barack Obama whose constitutional two-term mandate has ended.
Mr Obama, swept into office in 2008 and made history as America’s first Black president, and Africa was particularly enthralled for his fit, hitherto seen as impossible. Having his roots in the continent added to the expectation that Africans attached to his presidency. The jury is still out on whether the outgoing president, whose father was Kenyan, met those expectations. Tanzanians will, however, recall with nostalgia Mr Obama’s historic visit to the country in July, 2013.
As a superpower and leader of the free world, events in the US are closely followed globally and today’s inauguration in Washington of Mr Trump won’t be any different. The event, to be televised live, will be watched by billions worldwide. It will be the most talked about event for days, not only among the American people, but also among other members of the international community, whose interests are in one way or the other influenced by Washington.
Mr Trump becomes president at a period of serious challenges domestically and internationally. The prolonged war against ISIS, the refugee crises and an apparent new arms race reminiscent of the Cold-War era are but a few of the challenges that will top his agenda. The liberal global order is also being destabilised, with monumental decisions such as Britain’s Brexit pointing to inward looking sentimentalism creeping into nations that have traditionally safeguarded the global order.
Billionaire Trump, himself a huge beneficiary of the restriction free world has astounded many in the US and elsewhere with his “Make America great again” mantra.
Trump victory
He won, thanks to the US electoral collage system, the hotly contested but also highly divisive elections in the US history by defeating an experienced Ms Hillary Clinton who had the firm backing of Mr Obama. Since his election, Mr Trump has made remarks that continue to paint him as an unpredictable and reckless leader who could even ignite war among nations.
He has vowed to overturn business treaties and enforce his own beliefs to deliver his promises, which include building a wall to keep Mexicans out of the US, profile Muslims and deport undocumented illegal immigrants.
The world is restless and will keenly be watching the words and actions of Mr Trump, who has vowed to overturn most of what President Obama had put in place during the eight years of his presidency. As a Democrat, Mr Obama lived up to the notion that the world was better off with less warring and more equitable trade relations among nations. He was compassionate about the youth and worked tirelessly for their future.
But Mr Trump may be of the old order and has signalled under him, the US may return to its domineering ways of the past.
For Africa, while the incoming leadership hasn’t firmly signalled what interests it would pursue, fighting terror, fair business opportunities and empowerment of the young generation will remain key to its ties with US. Mr Obama tried to push these aspects of cooperation and largely succeeded but much more remains and the hope is that Trump will sustain the momentum.
