Despite the three criminal indictments he is facing, former US president Donald Trump is actively campaigning for the presidency: By all accounts, his campaign is going well in parts of the Republican base.
A New York Times poll published on July 31 found that 54 percent of Republican voters would support Trump if the election for the party’s presidential nominee were held today.
Trump recently won the support of all Republican representatives from Alabama. Furthermore, his deranged rallies continue to draw a large and enthusiastic crowd: While in Pennsylvania, Trump called US President Joe Biden “an enemy of the state” and repeated baseless electoral fraud claims. Trump, a populist demagogue, is apt to sow distrust in the federal government as part of his strategy. This blatant manipulation of public trust results in voters becoming increasingly disenchanted with liberal democratic institutions.
Nevertheless, Trump’s unapologetic anti-communist stance makes him attractive among certain groups of Taiwanese and Taiwanese Americans. Amid geopolitical tensions between China and the US, some hope for another figure like former US president Ronald Reagan.
However, Trump’s unrestrained and pugnacious style is likely to drive a rift between the US and its allies.
For instance, in an interview with Fox News, Trump accused Taiwan of taking away semiconductor business from the US and said that Washington should have imposed tariffs on Taiwan. This sentiment is consistent with his “America First” policy, which led to the US’ withdrawal from international treaties and organizations.
There are signs that established Republicans are distancing themselves from Trump. Following the indictment of Trump, former US vice president Mike Pence said: “Anyone who puts himself over the constitution should never be president of the United States.”
Pence, who is also seeking the Republican Party’s presidential nomination, has made it clear that he would continue supporting Ukraine militarily if elected. Nevertheless, some Republicans remain skeptical about supporting Kyiv, seeing the Ukraine war as a result of NATO’s expansionism. Trump believes that he could end the war in one day by pressuring Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to the negotiation table.
This seems like an overwhelmingly optimistic solution to a very difficult problem. As Kyiv’s counteroffensive stagnates, Ukraine fatigue within the US spreads, leading some to portray support for the European country as a financial burden and to demand quick solutions. Most of these solutions are wishful thinking and they risk betraying Ukrainian soldiers who put their life on the line to defend against Russian expansionism.
Even if the Republican Party ends up not nominating Trump for the presidency, there is still the risk of other candidates emulating Trump’s “America First” policy that seems to attract a large portion of the US’ blue-collar workers. Trumpism can still survive without Trump.
Unlike Trump’s increasingly isolationist stance, the Biden administration has announced US$345 million in military aid for Taiwan, largely drawing on the US’ own stockpiles to expedite arms deliveries. Taiwan and Ukraine need a resolute US president to have their backs.
Biden’s leadership is far from perfect, but the resurgence of Trumpism would only leave the US weaker domestically and internationally, which would be a detriment to Taiwan and the democratic front against authoritarian regimes.
Linus Chiou is a part-time writer based in Kaohsiung.
The conflict in the Middle East has been disrupting financial markets, raising concerns about rising inflationary pressures and global economic growth. One market that some investors are particularly worried about has not been heavily covered in the news: the private credit market. Even before the joint US-Israeli attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, global capital markets had faced growing structural pressure — the deteriorating funding conditions in the private credit market. The private credit market is where companies borrow funds directly from nonbank financial institutions such as asset management companies, insurance companies and private lending platforms. Its popularity has risen since
On March 22, 2023, at the close of their meeting in Moscow, media microphones were allowed to record Chinese Communist Party (CCP) dictator Xi Jinping (習近平) telling Russia’s dictator Vladimir Putin, “Right now there are changes — the likes of which we haven’t seen for 100 years — and we are the ones driving these changes together.” Widely read as Xi’s oath to create a China-Russia-dominated world order, it can be considered a high point for the China-Russia-Iran-North Korea (CRINK) informal alliance, which also included the dictatorships of Venezuela and Cuba. China enables and assists Russia’s war against Ukraine and North Korea’s
An article published in the Dec. 12, 1949, edition of the Central Daily News (中央日報) bore a headline with the intimidating phrase: “You Cannot Escape.” The article was about the execution of seven “communist spies,” some say on the basis of forced confessions, at the end of the 713 Penghu Incident. Those were different times, born of political paranoia shortly after the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) relocated to Taiwan following defeat in China by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The phrase was a warning by the KMT regime to the local populace not to challenge its power or threaten national unity. The
The Iran war has exposed a fundamental vulnerability in the global energy system. The escalating confrontation between Iran, Israel and the US has begun to shake international energy markets, largely because Iran is disrupting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. This narrow waterway carries roughly one-third of the world’s seaborne oil, making it one of the most strategically sensitive energy corridors in the world. Even the possibility of disruption has triggered sharp volatility in global oil prices. The duration and scope of the conflict remain uncertain, with senior US officials offering contradictory signals about how long military operations might continue.
RSS