This isn't about Trump
On the 1st of October the book 'Esto no va de Trump' was presented at Casa América, a collection of articles written by José María Peredo Pombo and published in Atalayar, with fifteen illustrations by Begoña Moreno. In addition, Inocencio Arias, Vicente Vallés and Carlos Franganillo attended and participated in the presentation. The book makes a critical and comprehensive analysis of US foreign policy in the Trump era, emphasising on the one hand the role of the president as the undisputed protagonist of the political debate and on the other hand the complex international scenario that goes beyond Trump's control.
This is undoubtedly a very interesting relationship. As Peredo stressed during the presentation, it is important not to fall into the error of overestimating Donald Trump's role in international politics, as this is not unilateral or exclusively American. He has not created political polarisation or populism, nor is he responsible for strengthening other powers, such as China. These are developments and situations that had been brewing since before his arrival at the White House.
However, as Franganillo pointed out, Trump has managed to make the most of them and has used them as a means of advancing political discourses and measures-generally controversial and highly criticised-that have kept him at the centre of the debate both inside and outside the United States. And the fact is that, although we should not attribute to him every event that takes place in the world, the decisions of the US president certainly have an impact on millions of people all over the planet.
For this reason the focus is now on the elections on 3 November, which will determine whether Trump will continue to lead the country or whether, on the contrary, he will be replaced by the Democratic candidate for president, Joe Biden. In this connection, Mr Vallés stressed Trump's leading role, arguing that, rather than an election between two candidates for the presidency, next month's elections can be understood as a referendum on Trump himself, in which US citizens will judge him, among other things, on his handling of the pandemic and the economic recession the country is currently experiencing.
'This is not about Trump' complements this view by arguing that, beyond the fact that the elections are a referendum on the president, the most important (and perhaps difficult) thing to understand is that the fundamental values and pillars of American democracy are under greater threat the more populism and polarisation spread. As for the economic and health situation, nothing is written and, although it seems that this may take its toll on the current president in the coming weeks, 2016 has already taught us that nothing can be taken for granted.
How are the results of November expected to affect relations between the US and other countries? In this context, the participants underlined Spain's lack of weight in relations with the US and as an intermediary between the US and Europe. As Inocencio Arias stated, the United States is a world power and, as such, only needs to relate to its closest allies and enemies; the rest of the world simply does not matter.
For example, many episodes of rivalry between the US and China are expected in the coming years, irrespective of who wins in November. Although it is undeniable that Trump responds to challenges in a very direct and clearly aggressive manner, the fact is that any US administration would have been inclined to clash with the Asian power. For this and other reasons, the winner of the election will have many challenges ahead.
'This is not about Trump' reviews the events that have marked the presidency of the controversial tycoon and provides the keys to understanding what will happen in the coming months.