With less than a month until the end of the first year of his second term, the phrase 'Tariffs, Trade, and Tantrums' captures the essence of Donald Trump's governance style as the 47th President of the United States. This approach has propelled him into uncharted territory, defying expectations.

Trump's return to the White House has unleashed a whirlwind of unorthodox leadership, often labelled 'unpresidential' or 'cowboy diplomacy' by experts. With three years remaining, his administration prioritises rapid action over convention, frequently breaching protocols and landing in court battles.

High-stakes deals—spanning business, ceasefires, and punitive tariffs—define his playbook. Experts highlight a clear shift: speed trumps process, pressure eclipses persuasion, and bespoke deals supplant rigid doctrines.

The past year has reshaped America's internal dynamics and global engagements through aggressive tariffs, stringent immigration measures, transactional foreign policy, and an emboldened exercise of presidential authority. While the US remains pivotal, its credibility and leadership image have suffered notable blows, despite Trump's self-proclaimed mantle as 'The Peace President'.

Foreign affairs specialist Robinder Sachdev describes this period as high-impact, high-velocity, and disruptive, fuelled by meticulous preparation, loyalist appointments, and sweeping executive powers.

West Asia strategist Waiel Awwad views the administration as a 'bullying' entity, yielding successes alongside backlash. It merges strategic alliances with adversarial trade tactics into a transactional haze.

Trump's first year unfolds across six pillars: tariffs as diplomatic tools, immigration as public spectacle, Epstein file controversies, fragile 'Peace President' claims, deal-driven diplomacy—especially with India—and a hastened multipolar world order.

Tariffs stand as the cornerstone of Trump's second-term statecraft, deployed swiftly and selectively to address trade imbalances, fiscal shortfalls, and even geopolitical tensions.

Sachdev identifies four aims: rectifying perceived historical inequities, bolstering US Treasury revenues, subsidising affected industries politically, and luring foreign investment stateside. These tariffs were no accident but a calculated strategy yielding concrete gains, Sachdev argues in his book Trumpotopia. Trump grew fond of them upon discovering their utility in 'peace diplomacy'.

He positioned tariffs to generate funds for the government coffers—a standout achievement this year. Some revenues supported impacted sectors as political sweeteners, while threats compelled investments.

White House figures tout USD 9.6 trillion in pledges from the EU, Japan, South Korea, Gulf states, and others, though Trump inflates this to over USD 20 trillion. Critics decry the alienation of allies.

Awwad notes Trump's admission that tariffs distanced India towards China and Russia, undermining US leadership. Tariffs have morphed into diplomatic cudgels against foes and friends alike.

This 'cowboy' style underscores a bullying posture, eroding goodwill. Domestically, immigration enforcement mirrors this aggression, fulfilling campaign vows amid turmoil. High-visibility raids, mass arrests, and ICE operations project dominance and deterrence, blending theatre with policy.

Sachdev calls it performative yet substantive: agents donned branded jackets, deployed in convoys with blaring sirens to amplify visibility for MAGA supporters and instil fear among undocumented migrants.

Daily quotas and scaled arrests—aiming for one million deportations via 3,000 daily operations under Stephen Miller—have flooded courts with challenges on immigration, citizenship, and federal overreach.

Society fractures into a 'boxing ring', Sachdev laments, supplanting the traditional melting pot. MAGA and liberals now eye each other with mutual dread. Awwad warns of brewing public discontent: healthcare losses, military overspending, and diverted taxes fuel resentment, risking civil strife over stabilisation.

Trump extended this rigour to H-1B visas in September, imposing a USD 100,000 fee per new application to prioritise American workers, hiking costs for skilled foreign talent in specialty roles. Campaign promises included declassifying Jeffrey Epstein's files—lists of associates, court records—to expose elite networks, energising conspiracy-leaning MAGA bases.

Yet this boomeranged. Loyalist cabinet delays—prioritising fealty over expertise, a lesson from term one—sparked backlash, targeting Attorney General Pam Bondi. A DOJ-FBI memo denied a 'client list' and confirmed Epstein's suicide. Congressional pressure via the Epstein Files Transparency Act forced releases in December. Documents revealed a past Trump-Epstein friendship but no criminal links. Media and MAGA scrutiny intensified over perceived cover-ups.

Trump branded himself 'Peace President', a dealmaker enforcing truces via coercion without sparking wars—yet longevity falters.

Tariffs, sanctions, and ultimatums frame as negotiation levers, not mere penalties. Sachdev notes Trump's enthusiasm for tariff threats in fostering peace.

Claims encompass India-Pakistan and Thailand-Cambodia, though contested. Gaza ceasefires hobble amid violence; others revert due to ignored historical contexts. Awwad critiques: Trump lacks depth on conflicts, rendering forced peace untenable against entrenched histories of occupation or annexation.

The Russia-Ukraine war—'Biden's War' in Trump's rhetoric—exposes limits. Campaign vows to end it quickly failed; no tariff fix applied. An August Alaska summit with Putin flopped; Russia's rejection of a 20-point plan citing territorial issues bred fragility. Post-Zelenskyy talks, Trump dropped deadlines.

Iran strikes and Venezuelan cartel interdictions belie the dove image, revealing hawkish undercurrents.

US-India ties veer from warmth to tension: Modi's early White House visit soured with 50% tariffs on Indian exports, Pakistan mediation post-Operation Sindoor, and a scrapped Quad trip. Awwad attributes this to India's rejection of mediation and safeguards on food, energy, and autonomy clashing with Trump's pressure tactics.

Sachdev sees tariffs as pivotal; resolved trade could usher a 'new normal'. Trump regrets 'losing' India to China-Russia orbits.

Experts concur: India recalibrates, hedging with multipolar ties. America needs India more, yet strains persist. Trump's bravado accelerates multipolarity, eroding trust as nations diversify via BRICS and G20 buffers against US caprice. Awwad laments tarnished US prestige and isolation; no supreme leadership remains amid mismanagement.

America endures as a counterweight to China and European threats, but must adapt to a multipolar reality with diverse voices. One year in, Trump's ledger mixes triumphs and tolls: rapid tariffs realign trade, immigration delivers spectacle, diplomacy extracts yields. Yet costs accrue—unpredictability, frayed trust, goodwill erosion. Partners feel coerced, rivals empowered, supporters uneasy.

The US stays indispensable sans rival superpower, but isolation scents its leadership. Year two probes disruption's staying power in a Trumpian order.

Based On ANI Report