Trump Politics, Tariffs and Trade Wars

Chido Nwangwu writes that United States of America’s President, Donald Trump’s speech to a joint session of Congress on March 4, 2025, has escalated several issues to the arenas of dispute and dialogue.

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he 45th and 47th President of the United States, Donald Trump, the relentless and hard-charging politician and messaging catalyst (like him or dislike him), took less than 75 seconds to make what he and his communications team consider the simple, powerful message of the return of his presidency. 

Where regular people, relatively fair analysts and his opponents insist that the famous as well as infamous Mr. Trump came back to Washington DC and unleashed cyclonic disruptions and confusion. 

While his critics yell and lament that Trump’s unusual ways and vengeful words/actions are likely to complicate and cause the decline of the power and influence of the United States, he said emphatically: “And to my fellow citizens, America is back.”

It’s a safe line, a warm philosophical point of optimism and hope for the persistent capacities for the renewal of the American Dream and the American Project!

Second, the controversial real estate businessman reminded his audience that: “Six weeks ago, I stood beneath the dome of this Capitol and proclaimed the dawn of the golden age of America. From that moment on, it has been nothing but swift and unrelenting action to usher in the greatest and most successful era in the history of our country.”

We, students of politics and power, are aware of the fact that any speech by President Trump or Citizen Trump will not seem true and sound credible without the garnish of bombast, self promotion and all….  He has been only six weeks since his second term. From his first day of his reelection as President, he has issued executive orders almost every three days! 

Opinion polls show that a majority of Americans support his agenda and actions, including the work and the drastic cuts being made by Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency task force, DOGE.

Without a doubt, President Trump’s restatement of his conservative positions on immigration, border security, culture wars and gender classification of only male and female were exciting to his fellow Republicans. 

On the other hand, Democrats expressed their opposition to his agenda. Houston area Congressman Al Green was removed for interrupting Trump’s speech. 

Trump mentioned some of what he grouped as wasted expenses of American money. 

He cited an African country: “$8 million to promote LGBTQI+ in the African nation of Lesotho, which nobody has ever heard of.” 

He mentioned a lot more; here’s a few more:

“$10 million for male circumcision in Mozambique. $20 million for the Arab Sesame Street in the Middle East. It’s a program — $20 million for a program….”

He was very personal and extremely harsh in his repeated attacks on his immediate predecessor, President Joe Biden who defeated him in the election a little over four years ago.

Evidently, the big elephant in the room remains the dangerous dance of Tariffs and Trade Wars which President Trump is eagerly seeking to get into with American friends, allies and foes.

Time will