An eventful week for world politics. Following his inauguration on the 20th Donald Trump has made many executive orders to try to make an impact and harassed parts of the government to have information presented in a manner that reflects well on him. In particular when his ego was hit with the lower number of attendees that for Obama’s first. A worrying week 1.
He managed to fit in a visit from Theresa May who did her best to suck up and it would appear fight for a trade deal.
She did her best to avoid any comment on his support for torture and came out with the usual trite comments about ‘the special relationship’. Any trade deal with leave the UK screwed as the UK is in a position of weakness and that is well known. As described below:
What would such a deal look like? Tariffs between the US and the UK are already low, so it is the dropping of a different kind of barrier that Trump would be after. That could be a softening of the food standards that have kept out hormone-injected US beef. Or granting access to the NHS to overcharging US drug companies. Or a relaxation in environmental or labour rules that, set with our onetime EU partners, proved too onerous for US firms until now.
An to add to the air of weakness and lack to principals May is not cozying up to Erdogan in Turkey– another despot in the making.
All because of cutting off ties with natural allies, being out in cold in a worse place than at present with Brexit and the necessary drive to fill in the gaps at any cost. But the proponents tell us it will be all so easy and positive. The place really is going to the dogs. Let’s hope there is some traction of changing that apparent reality.
