Reform MP: Trump comeback result of Biden's weak domestic, foreign policy
Donald Trump, the new United States president-elect, was able to make a powerful comeback as a result of the perceived weakness of current incumbent Joe Biden's administration, both on foreign and domestic policy, Riigikogu's Foreign Affairs Committee chair Marko Mihkelson (Reform) has said.
Speaking to "Esimene stuudio," the Reform MP said that Trump had proven able to position himself as the frontrunner in the presidential elections within a couple of years following 2020's loss and 2022's poor showing in the midterm elections, even attracting voters who had previously supported the Democrats.
"I think the main reason Trump was able to make a comeback of this nature is due to the extreme weakness from the outgoing Biden administration on many issues, both domestically and internationally," Mihkelson said.
"Even if we look at the 2022 midterms, where Trump did not see much success given many of his endorsed candidates lost rather than won, it did not seem logical that he could reposition himself as a favorite within two years, yet he managed to do so," he went on.
Mihkelson outlined that Vice President Kamala Harris, who only became Democratic nominee in late July, had had the opportunity to prove herself, but she failed to do so.
"Despite entering the campaign at essentially the last minute under extenuating circumstances, and getting few chances to distance herself from the administration she is currently part of, she did have a small chance to sway voter support. However, one error followed another, and Harris herself failed to convince, especially on issues that matter to many voters: Such as the economy and the impact of inflation through Biden's administration."
"As a result, Trump's showmanship, despite all he came up with during the campaign, resonated with those voters pinning their hopes on him being the one who will put things right again," Mihkelson elaborated.
In his victory speech Wednesday, Trump promised to stand up for every American. On this Mihkelson commented that even if Trump sincerely wishes to unite society and be the president for all Americans, his statements during the campaign make this task far from easy.
"The topics Trump picked up on so strongly during the campaign, such as immigration, the potential deportation of illegal immigrants ... not to mention women's rights and other critical topics, on which Trump has very vivid opinions – how all of this might play out and impact society," was a question for Mihkelson.
Meanwhile on Ukraine indecisiveness and unpredictability alike from the U.S. are a hazard, the MP went on.
While the Biden administration has proven indecisive regarding the war in Ukraine, there is currently uncertainty about Trump's policy on the matter.
From Ukraine's perspective, according to Mihkelson, both options are not rosy.
"Any indecisiveness or unpredictability is dangerous as it lacks a clear purpose," he said.
"We have not heard from Trump – just as we had not from Biden – any unequivocal and clear statement that the U.S. backs Ukraine's victory plan, is ready to invite them into NATO, will supply weapons in sufficient quantity to ensure victory, and grant the right to use these weapons to strike military targets within Russian terrain," Mihkelson went on.
"We have not heard this from either side – not from the outgoing president and not from Trump as the incoming president, nor from his vice president either. Instead, we have seen doubts, opinions that Ukraine may not be able to win this war, and that a solution should be sought by having Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky speak directly."
"I cannot imagine Trump even making a move within 24 or 48 hours that would make the parties take this seriously right now, either. Russia does not need them to," Mihkelson said.
Russia has progressed faster since the full-scale invasion in 2022 than we would like to see, the MP noted, and one reason for this is that the very aid pledged to Ukraine has not fully arrived, more than 32 months after the full-scale invasion began and over 10 years since Russia's shadow war in eastern Ukraine started.
"Just recently, Zelensky said that only a tenth of the military aid promised by the U.S. last spring had arrived," Mihkelson continued.
Mihkelson noted that both Trump and his vice president-elect J.D. Vance have so far been more critical of Ukraine than they have of Russia, though Trump's actions could still surprise us.
"Trump is not someone who likes to lose, but if he is placed in a situation where he has to prove that he is a winner, he might react in a way that could come as an unpleasant surprise even to Russia."
As for the likelihood that Trump will demand greater European investment in its own defense, Mihkelson noted that this on the other hand should not come as a surprise.
"There have been many wake-up calls for Europe, not just Trump's victory. There is a war in Europe that has been going on not just for three years; Russia began its destruction of the Ukrainian state in 2014. But only last year did most NATO countries reach the [NATO] 2 percent GDP defense spending threshold. However, this is insufficient even to replenish reserves, fill stockpiles, and, more importantly, to strengthen defense capability," Mihkelson concluded.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Merili Nael
Source: "Esimene stuudio", interviewer Andres Kuusk