Back with a vengeance. On the first anniversary of his second inauguration, Donald Trump using all the levers at his disposal to enact retribution on his adversaries at home and the guardians of the old liberal order abroad.
One year on, why did voters in the United States decide to overlook the attempt by his supporters to overturn by force the result of the 2020 elections and return to office the twice-impeached Donald Trump? This time, it’s different, very different.
The 79-year old president wields so much power that he can send masked federal agents into the streets and even raise doubts for some over the fair conduct of midterm elections in opposition strongholds. Inside the Oval Office, boomers raised during the Cold War have been replaced by Gen Zeers enthralled by the “move fast and break things” mantra of Silicon Valley tech titans.
As Europeans scramble in the face of hostile tariffs, calls to grab Greenland, and official policy that states the US must “cultivate resistance” within the continent to “Europe’s current trajectory”, its leaders face many of the same post-pandemic issues: an ageing population, a head swimmingly fast digital transformation, a loneliness epidemic among young and old alike, and echo chambers that monetize shock and outrage.
