The US president deserves the chance to make his mark in a very demanding job
With the pomp and ceremony of the inauguration now out of the way, the United States’s 45th president, Donald Trump, is getting down to business. As he takes on this difficult challenge, he does so with the best wishes of people from around the world. The leadership of this country – Sheikh Khalifa, the President; Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces – have congratulated Mr Trump and expressed their hope for a strengthening of ties between the UAE and the US.
While controversy surrounded his candidacy and election, Mr Trump will be judged by how he conducts himself in office and what he achieves. In his inauguration speech, he took a tough but not entirely unexpected tone, depicting the US as a bleak and broken place – despite economic data suggesting all is not as bad as he paints it – and promising that he would fix it by putting America first. It is reasonable to ask: where does that leave the rest of the world?
Inevitably, just like Barack Obama and other presidents before him, Mr Trump will decide, or be forced, to renege on some of his promises. He has, however, begun to make good on his pledge to dismantle Obamacare by signing an executive order to that effect within hours of taking the oath of office. There is good reason to think that he will stand by many of his other policies, too.
In the Middle East, Mr Trump has already retreated somewhat from his pre-election rhetoric about banning Muslims from entering the US, and we expect that such a blanket approach to immigration processing won’t happen. However, concern remains about his commitment to moving the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, because no good can come from such a provocative act. While we welcome Mr Trump’s pledge to defeat ISIL and other extremists groups, we wonder what he intends to do to contain Iran’s expansionism and meddling in the Gulf and the wider region, and how America will aid efforts towards a peaceful settlement of the Syrian conflict.
There is much to do in what is the world’s most demanding job. Mr Trump won’t be able to make everybody in his own country, or outside it, happy. But he is entitled to the presumption that he will take the job seriously, and do it to the best of his ability and in the best interests of his country and its allies.
