As President-elect, Donald Trump, takes office today (January 20), his brand of diplomacy is already sending shock waves around the world, especially in Europe, where it is putting the countries in that region on edge.
The inauguration marks the official transfer of presidential power from the Joe Biden administration to Trump, who has vowed to implement wide-ranging decisions on his first day in office.
This year’s ceremonies planned by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies will feature the procession to the Capitol; vice president’s swearing-in; president’s swearing-in; inaugural address; honorary departure of the outgoing president and vice president; signing ceremony; inaugural luncheon; and review of military troops.
Scheduled to begin around 11:30 a.m. ET, the proceedings which were initially going to take place on the West Front of the US Capitol, has been moved indoors to the Capitol Rotunda because of cold temperatures expected in Washington D.C. today.
But Europe continues to await the incoming president’s inauguration with bated breath. Trump has reiterated his desire for the US to acquire Greenland and the Panama Canal, calling both critical to American national security. Besides, he has refused to rule out using military or economic force in order to take over the autonomous Danish territory or the Canal.
He has promised he will “make heads spin” and move full-speed ahead with his ambitious agenda after his presidential inauguration, with media reports suggesting he could announce as many as 100 executive orders within hours of being sworn in as the 47th president.
In addition, Trump has vowed to use “economic force” when asked if he would attempt to annex Canada as America’s 51st state and called their shared border an “artificially drawn line”.
The boundary is the world’s longest between two countries and it was established in treaties dating back to the founding of the US in the late 1700s.
The president-elect said the US spends billions of dollars protecting Canada, criticising imports of Canadian cars, lumber and dairy products. “They should be a state,” he said recently.
Among other things, he has suggested renaming the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America” and restated his opposition to wind power, saying wind turbines are “driving the whales crazy”.
Greenland – which has a population of just 57,000 – is the world’s largest island and is a strategically important part of the Arctic region. It has wide-ranging autonomy, but its economy is largely dependent on subsidies from Copenhagen and it remains part of the kingdom of Denmark.
Greenland is also home to a large American space facility and has some of the largest deposits of rare earth minerals, which are crucial in the manufacture of batteries and high-tech devices.
Trump suggested the island is crucial to military efforts to track Chinese and Russian ships, which he said are “all over the place”. “I’m talking about protecting the free world,” he said.
He previously accused Panama of overcharging US ships to use the waterway, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The canal was built in the early 1900s and the US maintained control over the canal zone until 1977, when treaties negotiated under President Jimmy Carter gradually ceded the land back to Panama.
“Giving the Panama Canal to Panama was a very big mistake,” Trump said. “Look, (Carter) was a good man… But that was a big mistake,” he said.
It’s unclear how serious the president-elect is about adding to the territory of the US, particularly when it comes to Canada, a country of 41 million people and the second-largest nation by area in the world.
But with these wild claims and others yet to come, the potential for global unrest is likely to be higher, given Trump’s volatility, transactional approach, and unorthodox diplomatic dealings.
The return of Trump to the White House has raised many concerns because of his unpredictable nature, blunt language, and presumable belief in the “madman theory”.
Trump, with his controversial stance and bold moves, could either drive the US foreign policy in a different direction or set the stage for significant global challenges, particularly with regard to democracy, human rights, and the rule-based world order.
The president’s directive to federal agencies today could affect everything from immigration and border policy to climate action, energy and even cryptocurrency. While these orders do not require congressional approval, they have the power of law and remain in force until they are cancelled, repealed, halted or expire.
He will almost always have his way in the legislature as his Republicans have a firm grip on Congress, even though advocacy groups and Democratic state governors have vowed to challenge some of Trump’s plans in the courts and elsewhere.
He has vowed to “launch the largest deportation programme in American history”, starting from day one; launch the ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy; end birthright citizenship; Build the wall, among others.
Besides, he will most likely Scrap Joe Biden’s climate policies; pull out of the Paris Agreement again; pardon the January 6 rioters; undo Biden’s recent decision to remove Cuba from its list of state sponsors of terrorism; reinstate sanctions against Venezuela as well as ban federal aid to international groups that provide abortion counselling.
Trump has also criticised what he calls “transgender lunacy” in schools and healthcare, and has specifically vowed to bar transgender women from competing in women’s sports. He could also take a decision on the ban on TikTok after his swearing-in ceremony today.
Meanwhile, TikTok said Sunday that it would be restoring service to US users after blocking it the evening before.
In a statement, TikTok said its video platform was coming back online after President-elect Trump provided the necessary assurances to the company’s service providers.
“In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service,” TikTok said in a post on X.
“We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive,” it stressed.
“It’s a strong stand for the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship. We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States,” the company added.
Just hours before TikTok blocked service to Americans, Trump posted to Truth Social calling for the app to remain available. Trump indicated that he wanted it to be available to broadcast his inauguration on Monday.
“I will issue an executive order on Monday to extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect, so that we can make a deal to protect our national security. The order will also confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before my order,” Trump wrote.
TikTok’s availability came back in spurts Sunday afternoon, with access to the platform’s content first becoming available through web browsers.
Later in the day, the app became usable for some, and welcomed users back with a message saying, “Welcome back! Thanks for your patience and support. As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.! You can continue to create, share, and discover all the things you love on TikTok.”
The app was still unavailable for download from Apple’s and Google’s app stores. The law banning TikTok, which was scheduled to go into effect on Sunday, allows the president to grant a 90-day extension before the ban is enforced, provided certain criteria are met, NBC reported.
Under a law that Biden signed in April, TikTok would be banned unless its Chinese owner, ByteDance, sold the company to a non-Chinese buyer.