Perhaps, the most important piece of international news that we had last week was American President Donald Trump's address to Congress in what is known as the address about the state of the nation. Irrespective of the person, an address by an American president is always going to make news. This time round, the importance lay in what Trump had to say. Many journalists thought that he was going to be a total flop. International commentators awaited Trump's discourse in earnest. They were for a big surprise. He did a wonderful job. He was cool and collected and his voice melliferous. While Trump was giving his address many, in Europe, were fast asleep. He was very clear in his theories. Moreover, he was backed by the fact that he has already started delivering his electoral promises. This is what is making anti-Trump journalists angry.
After a year in office, the negative journalistic rhetoric and misreporting about Trump is dying down. Even past critical voices are now admitting that he is not the stupid chap that the hostile international media sought to portray. Trump is an intelligent man and knows what he wants. For sure, from a business point of view, he is making America great again. After months of a smear campaign, Donald Trump is proving that he is up to the job of being President of the United States of America. More importantly, his presidency is leaving good ripple effects on the European economy.
As has been the case over the last 200 years, whenever American economy progresses, European economy follows suit. It is no coincidence, therefore, that the economy in Europe is registering progress and this is not happening independently of what is going on in America. The growth in Europe is taking place because the American economy is once again booming.
Trump's discourse lasted over an hour-and-a-half. As expected, Trump stressed on his successes in the employment area. At the same time, he hit out at the Democrats and accused them of stalling the advance of the economy with their actions and behaviour. In his typical manner, he tried to obtain their support for the construction of the wall that will separate the USA from Mexico. To build this wall, he needs the Democrats' support because of the cost involved. For this reason, he attempted to cut some form of deal with them, by conceding on migration, in return for their backing in building the wall.
He spoke of the American dream when addressing the migrants' issue. Migrants are welcome, Trump insisted, providing that they are hardworking individuals. He also spoke in favour of the immigration of skilled workers to America. Most of the individuals who obtained the Green Card in the past were mainly low skilled workers.
The truth is that when both Clinton and Obama were presidents of the United States, they did not have an open policy towards migration. It was very difficult for a migrant to become an American citizen. Both presidents tried to discourage what is known as chain migration. Trump too is not making chain migration easy with the result that it is becoming even more difficult for a migrant to become an American citizen.
This does not mean that I agree with Trump on all his policies. I do not think that America needs this wall. Most of the so-called illegal migrants in America are entering the country through legal ways. They obtain a visa and once the visa expires, they stay on in the country. They can stay because they are finding jobs. Therefore, if America wants to fight illegal migration, it needs to check on employers who are employing migrants illegally. But this is a double edged situation. The current economic growth in America is also the result of the presence of these illegal migrants.
Trump also spoke about Guantanamo Prison. He stressed that this prison is going to remain open. This requires a separate and independent analysis.
From a political point of view, Trump anticipated the reaction of the Democrats. He knows that certain policies of the Democrats, particularly their culture wars, brought division and not unity to the nation. This is why, in my opinion, he spoke about the need for the unity of the nation. For sure, Trump is steering away from these culture wars. He is not financing them which made a number of international NGOs - who existed thanks to supporting a leftist agenda - extremely angry. But Obama and Clinton needed these culture wars to hide their economic failures, which were leaving behind a big mess in international affairs.
Trump could not avoid referring to Russia. I find this part of his discourse as the one where the American President was ill at ease. I don't think that the difficulty derives from the accusations being made by the Democrats regarding Putin's support for the election of Trump. The story that Trump's election was piloted by Russia is now verging on the grotesque. The truth is that Trump was voted into the American presidency by the Conservative voters, in particular, those of the mid-west. These were the voters who were normally ignored by main stream politicians. I honestly believe that Trump really wants a new relationship with Russia. One needs also to remember that Putin is preparing himself for elections in his own country.
Linking this story of Russia and Putin is Trump's impeachment. Those who follow American news closely are also realizing that the chances of impeaching the president are waning. I will not say that this was fake news. There are many in America, who want Trump impeached and prosecuted but it is turning out to be wishful thinking. The miscalculated attack by the Democrats ended up enhancing Trump's political figure back home.
On his part, Trump did not make any reference to the accusations that Putin supported his election. This lack of reference to Russia is interesting, as two days before Trump addressed Congress, Russia organized the Sochi Conference regarding Syria. This goes to assert Russia's central diplomatic role in Syria.
Then, Trump was forced to sign a list containing names of individuals close to Putin and published by Congress. The list, now known at the Putin List, is described by the international media as a punitive act by Congress (or better the Democrats) for the alleged intervention of Putin in the American election. In the end, this turned out to be only an exercise in naming and shaming Russian oligarchs. Malta was interested in this story because on this list appear the names of two oligarchs who have bought a Maltese passport.
Now, we learn that there are at least two other individuals on this list who own football clubs in the UK! What is the most revealing and interesting is that this list was compiled by the Democrats using Forbes magazine. The Democrats just referred to Forbes magazine, picked the names of the richest Russian oligarchs and labelled them as corrupt without even bothering to hold a proper investigation. What this means in international relations is that this is merely a simplistic list. In fact, it is not a punitive one. No sanctions were imposed on these Russian oligarchs. It is just a naming and shaming exercise without any real consequences. Moreover, it was published at the last minute showing that the President of America did not want to have it made public. In fact, it is an open secret that Trump favors better relations with Russia and opposes this list. But the Democrats in America still think in terms of the Cold War. Therefore, the effect of this list are limited. It was just a media exercise destined to back fire.