With the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump scheduled for our first week back from winter break, the spring semester will surely be filled with some surprises from our new executive branch.
Barack Obama’s team will leave the White House behind and leave room for an entirely new squad of diversified figures. Some have been highly criticized by the left, and even the right at times, while some seem to have contented both sides of the aisle.
Although “certainty” is not a word that political journalists can easily use these days when referring to the next four years, four months, or even four days, one thing is definitely certain: the ideologies in Washington are being challenged, and Donald Trump is at the forefront of that fight.
Firebrand picks like Steve Bannon have stirred the cauldron, showing everyone that Trump is not keen on assembling mainstream folks for his cabinet. He wants diversity.
It’s becoming clear that this cabinet will be one that is filled with a lack of like-minded individuals, surely fueling an environment where issues are hotly debated and the truth doesn’t lie in the hands of one particularly party.
Far too often have we seen cabinets filled with factionalized teams that work for their party rather than for the real goal of strengthening America.
Trump is trying something new.
Yes, untested strategies should alarm everyone. But America chose this path.
An overwhelming portion of the American population wanted an outsider to take office. About half the country voted for one, and another large percentage voted for Bernie in the primaries.
Trump is showing us an outsider’s take on what teamwork can look like. He respects the opinions of successful people and wants to hear them all.
Don’t believe me?
After an hour-and-a-half sit down with President Obama, which was scheduled for 10 minutes, both leaders left confident with the content of the conversation, according to CNN.
Similarly, Al Gore left an important meeting with the president-elect regarding global warming, praising Trump for a productive and interesting discussion.
Both of these stories have given me the confidence that maybe this Cabinet will be effective.
Where this shift may be most greatly felt is on the chessboard of foreign policy that Trump will inherit on Jan. 20.
Needless to say, the United States has been working tirelessly since her inception to become a world leader both by example, and by force.
This has caused us to form shaky relationships with foreign leaders across the globe, and, in the nuclear stage we live in, the status quo of these relationships ought to be tended to with great care.
We wouldn’t want to disturb the relationship with the Chinese government, who are the second-most powerful leaders in the world.
At least, that’s what the state department was thinking when they heard the fateful news that Trump had decided to answer his phone when called by the leader of Taiwan to congratulate him on his victory.
According to the always-cordial folks in Beijing, Taiwan happens to be their territory and should not be dealing with America without their consultation. They even referred to the call as a trick.
This broke years of diplomatic efforts by both the U.S. government and China, whole leaders concluded that Taiwan should be colored in the same as the rest of China on world maps.
Funny, though, the map I have hanging in my room has them separate. I guess that’s why I like it so much. Clearly, people disagree.
Taiwan is self-governed and wants to be sovereign, but due to economic ties between two overbearing superpowers, the island state has seen minimal diplomatic ties with the U.S. since 1979.
Trump doesn’t like this idea much, and has been quite transparent about his distaste for China as a whole.
Able to recognize a bully when he sees one (probably because he’s a bully himself), Trump took the call to show China that his America will no longer sit back and bow down to its demands.
With people fearing the worst will come of this, I question their concerns.
China must tread carefully in dealing with their biggest economic partner. Trade sanctions and war will only hurt their economy as well.
Decades of economic development have created an equilibrium where China and the United States rely on each other. The United States provides business ventures, while China provides the engine that supplies the hyper-consumer demands of urban America.
The real-estate-negotiations legend is putting those skills to work on a mega-scale right now.
It’s unorthodox and risky, but every businessman knows that the biggest rewards come from risky strategies.
Let’s pray Mr. Trump has made the right calculations. I’m more excited than nervous.
