The inauguration of Donald Trump has the potential to be much more significant in our world history than his first inauguration in January 2017. Rather than complacently assuming the four years of the first Trump presidency to be an interruption on an otherwise centrist path to greater progress and freedom, a second Trump presidency shows the first not to be an anomaly and begins in a world that has taken a sharp turn towards authoritarian leadership.
The incoming administration has a clear political agenda for its second term and the outline of a plan to achieve it. While the primary focus of that plan is domestic, America’s relationship with the world is at the centre of the incoming government’s political philosophy. As we have already seen with the impact on UK domestic politics of the global markets anticipating potentially inflationary policies coming from the US, decisions taken well beyond our borders can have a big impact here at home. This is before Trump has even started his second presidency. What does Trump’s second term mean for the British Labour government and the global centre-left? And what next for Democrats in the US?
