By: Dr Metod Berlec
In the first days of his second presidential term, the new American president, Donald Trump, has made several significant decisions. Immediately after taking the oath, he signed a series of executive orders to fulfil his pre-election promises.
Among other things, he signed an executive order withdrawing the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement, exiting the World Health Organisation (WHO), abolishing woke diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programmes, and declaring that the U.S. will once again be a “meritocratic society” where hiring is based on qualifications and abilities. He established the Office of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and entrusted it to technological genius Elon Musk, who is expected to drastically cut public spending. At the same time, Trump announced an uncompromising fight against crime. He also initiated measures to stop illegal immigration and began deporting those who entered the U.S. unlawfully.
As Dr Bogomil Ferfila, an expert in international relations, stated in an interview for our magazine, Trump behaves like a businessman rather than a career politician. “That is also how he is acting now. He has designated drug cartels as terrorist organisations, which means he can unleash the U.S. military and special forces against them. This does not mean American special forces will start invading Mexican territory and attacking cartels directly, but rather that he is pressuring the Mexican government to use its own police, soldiers, and special forces to crack down on the cartels – thus preventing a potential American intervention.” Ferfila further explains: “I believe his announcements of high tariffs on China or Canada, or devastating sanctions on Russia, are all part of his strategy to eventually secure a better deal for the U.S.” Similarly, Trump’s demand that NATO member states allocate 5% of their GDP to defence spending follows the same logic. “Realistically, NATO will likely settle on 2.5% of GDP for defence spending – half a percentage point more than the current commitment, which most NATO members, including Slovenia, are not even meeting. Trump is trying to force alliance members to start fulfilling their obligations instead of shifting the entire burden of collective defence onto the United States.”
In short, the world’s most powerful country has a president who has immediately transitioned from words to action. A president who prioritises the interests of his country and its citizens – unlike our own leaders, who seem more interested in serving foreign interests than Slovenian ones.