The first issue is not new; the EU experienced it during Trump’s previous term, but now it seems we are looking at version 2.0 on steroids. From the U.S. perspective, the EU is the second biggest “culprit” for an unbalanced trade exchange, with the U.S. recording a bigger trade deficit only with China. Consequently, the forecast is clear: China will face the harshest penalties (additional tariffs of up to 60%?), followed closely by the EU and Mexico. All of this, of course, comes at the worst possible time for the EU, with Germany's economic growth engine apparently stalling.

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The second issue is also not new. The EU has had plenty of time (though far too little political wisdom and will) to prepare: either European NATO members will pay significantly more for defense and contribute more to the alliance, or they will face their own (security) fate. This will, of course, depend on how the war in Ukraine unfolds, the instability in the Middle East, and other crises. Europe’s surrounding security challenges are plentiful, but its capacity to address them effectively is lacking. Despite French President Emmanuel Macron’s loud declarations about “strategic autonomy,” one would be hard-pressed to find an industry or field where the EU is truly strategically autonomous. Defense capabilities certainly aren’t one of them.

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But all these challenges and Europe’s shock at Trump’s re-election are still, first and foremost, an expression of its own Eurocentrism. The Old Continent still seems unable to grasp who truly won the Second World War. It seems unprepared to confront the fact that European colonialism—with all its deviations and perks in the form of cheap raw materials, exploited labor, and political influence—has been dead for more than 70 years. A new reality has emerged, in which a genuine geopolitical challenger to pax Americana has appeared—China, of course. And China will not settle for the status quo; it will continuously challenge it, justify alternatives, and demand a different order.

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Where does the EU stand in this, and what it truly thinks, is no longer as important in this game. The soft power the EU still wields (but continues to squander rapidly) does not translate into the military and political power needed to decide matters of war and peace in Europe, let alone globally. Therefore, Europe’s troubles with Trump are quite irrelevant to the broader world. Each region will deal with the challenges of Trump 2.0 in its own way, as best it can. While Europeans mourn the defeat of the lackluster Democrats led by the Biden-Harris duo, Mexicans are preparing for a much bigger (and potentially more devastating) tsunami. What do we know about this? Nothing or very little. Are we interested? Hardly. The same applies to other corners of the world observing European reactions and frustrations with indifference.

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Therefore, our European troubles with Trump are quite irrelevant to the broader world. Each region will confront the challenges of Trump 2.0 in its own way, as best it can. While in Europe we lament the defeat of the unremarkable Democrats led by the Biden-Harris duo, Mexicans are bracing for a much larger (and potentially more fateful) tsunami. What do we know about this? Nothing or very little.

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This is why it’s worth looking beyond Europe’s shock and asking what kind of America Trump managed to sell to the majority of the U.S. electorate. It’s not just U.S. trade or military-defense policy that impacts the world; the transformation of American society, its political system, and its economic model should concern us as well. Political imitators are not in short supply here, let alone elsewhere in Europe. A wave of significant societal experiments in the U.S. could quickly spark similar trends elsewhere. We’ve already seen this with populist rhetoric, and now we might witness it in actual policymaking.

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Do you remember Thatcher’s neoliberal austerity policies and all-encompassing free market principles, with the drastic negative effects of public sector privatization, whose costs the British lower and middle classes paid for decades? Why do I bring her up? Because Thatcherism, compared to what Trump 2.0 has in store for Americans, will seem like child’s play—a bedtime story.

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Among Trump’s announced domestic policies, the ones that resonated most in our region were his plans for deportations and migration policy (the expulsion of millions of illegal immigrants) and tax cuts. But there’s more—much more. This isn’t about the conservative political Project 2025, from which Trump has distanced himself in recent months. No, with his so-called Project 47 Agenda, which he revealed piece by piece in the months leading up to the election, Trump was rather explicit. The future he envisions in this agenda is dystopian, a neoliberal apocalypse.

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It’s a list of promises offering a clear glimpse into Trump’s brave new (American) world. It doesn’t just include tax cuts (such as lowering the corporate tax rate), but also a proposed 33% cut to the federal budget. One can only imagine the implications for the quality and scope of public services and social programs, which are already not a strong point of the U.S. It’s not just about restricting immigration or deportations; the plan also includes stripping citizenship from children born to migrants in the U.S. (!) It’s not just about deregulation and reducing bureaucracy but also about creating ten so-called Freedom Cities, entirely exempt from any government regulation. From there, it’s not a big leap to the dystopian plot of The Purge—finding “solutions” to crime and gun violence through partial decriminalization of violent acts. In Trump’s world, anything is possible.

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But the dystopia doesn’t stop there. Homelessness, for instance, would be criminalized under Trump’s plan, with all homeless people arrested and placed in so-called federal tent cities where they would receive “treatment and rehabilitation.” Sound familiar? It’s reminiscent of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, where remnants of the civilized Homo sapiens were confined to such camps and reservations so as not to disrupt the new societal order.

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And there’s more. Following the model of Iran’s morality police, Trump would also fight so-called anti-Christian bias, proposing the establishment of a special government agency (so much for reducing bureaucracy) to address it, along with introducing prayer in public schools and Bible studies. Then there’s the withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, a logical extension of the “drill, baby, drill” oil-and-gas frenzy (even though the U.S. is already the world’s largest producer of liquid gold, which it happily exports). But for Trump, this isn’t enough; he wants more. Measures in deregulation, energy, and climate are designed to work hand in hand—toward complete liberalization and the omnipotence of the invisible hand of the market. It’s no wonder Wall Street is applauding.

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What Trump is promising America is exactly this: the creation of a deregulated chaos that will ultimately make the poor and disgruntled (and there are many of them in the U.S.) even poorer, angrier, and more resentful. It will drive them to fury. But, of course, Trump won’t be to blame for this state of affairs. The fault will lie instead with the new-old “enemies”: the deep state, migrants, the LGBTQ community, and others.

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Dementus, the main antagonist in Furiosa (part of the Mad Max saga, released this spring), shouts midway through the film: “We will create order out of chaos!” It seems Trump was listening. What Trump is promising America is precisely this: the creation of deregulated chaos that will ultimately make the poor and disenfranchised (and there are many in the U.S.) even poorer, angrier, and more alienated. It will drive them to rage. But, of course, Trump won’t be held accountable for this state of affairs. Instead, the blame will fall on the same old “enemies”: the deep state, migrants, the LGBTQ community, and so on. Meanwhile, the rich will only grow richer. And not “rich” in the sense of the upper-middle class—no. When we say rich, we mean the likes of Elon Musk or Miriam Adelson, owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team and an ultra-conservative supporter of Israel and the destruction of Palestine.

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In this context, we should also view the appointments to Trump’s cabinet that we are witnessing these days. The interpretation that this is merely about repaying favors and rewarding campaign supporters is misguided. It’s much more than that. These appointments represent individuals Trump believes can realize his vision (in this light, for instance, the appointment of well-known anti-vaccine advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health no longer seems so coincidental). Will they succeed?

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We’ll see in four years. But we already know that the U.S. is on the brink of one of the greatest social experiments in its history. Trump’s political engineering could shake the U.S. to its very foundations and push it into all manner of dystopian extremes. Perhaps “God Save the U.S.A.” might indeed be a more fitting version than the patriotic “blessed” original.

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This column was originally published on November 23, 2024, in Večer. You can also read the Slovenian version on Večer’s website.

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