WASHINGTON: With the return to the White House of Donald Trump, the United States and the world are set for a major new shakeup as the nationalist president turns the page on four years of nurturing allies and confronting foes. Trump is expected to unleash major new pressure on Iran’s clerical state. After Trump’s first term, outgoing President Joe Biden put a priority on restoring historic US relationships, which again could see tumult as Trump accuses allies of freeloading off the US military and renews questions about NATO, a bedrock of US foreign policy since the Cold War.
On the campaign trail, Trump has raged against China, with both he and Vice President-elect JD Vance casting the Asian power as an enemy. Trump, however, has also insisted that he has a strong relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping — a sort of emphasis on personal diplomacy not entirely different than Biden. Trump’s personal style could see more fireworks in Latin America, where key US partners Brazil and Colombia and now Mexico are led by leftists.
One of Trump’s key campaign promises — the mass deportation of millions of undocumented immigrants — could threaten havoc in the region if carried out, although Trump managed a stable, transactional relationship with Mexico’s leader in his first term. Trump is not known to have an interest in Africa and is unlikely to push for renewal next year of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, a key trade pact and priority for the continent,.