An Analysis of his Historical Record and his Inaugural Remarks
The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) expresses deep concern over Donald Trump’s return to the global political stage. This development represents a continuation of dangerous trends in international politics, marked by narrow nationalism, unilateralism, xenophobia, protectionism and the resurgence of right-wing ideologies that exacerbate global inequality, undermine multilateralism, and jeopardise the fight against climate change. Below, we unpack critical aspects of Trump’s ideology and record that demand urgent attention from progressive forces worldwide.
Trump and Ultra-Nationalism
Donald Trump’s rhetoric and policies have consistently championed narrow and ultra-nationalist ideals. From his campaign slogans like “America First” to policies that prioritised the United States’ perceived self-interest at the expense of international solidarity, Trump has sought to isolate the U.S. from the global community. His approach mirrors the rise of nationalist movements in Europe, where right-wing leaders have advanced xenophobic, anti-migrant, patriarchal and homophobic agendas, blaming marginalised groups for societal challenges. Trump’s speeches have echoed these divisive themes, amplifying fear and division while stoking economic protectionism that alienates allies and partners.
This kind of old-fashioned nationalism has emboldened similarly regressive leaders globally, including figures like Jacob Zuma in South Africa, Yoweri Museveni in Uganda, King Mswati III in eSwatini, and even the late Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe. Many of these leaders have histories of championing homophobic statements, laws and policies, suppressing LGBTQ+ rights, and scapegoating queer communities as part of their reactionary ideologies. In Uganda, Museveni’s regime passed draconian anti-LGBTQ+ laws inspired by a climate of intolerance fuelled by both local and international evangelical influence. Similarly, King Mswati’s regime in eSwatini continues to uphold discriminatory practices, exacerbating the marginalisation of LGBTQ+ people.
Trump’s global influence has further energised dangerously populist evangelical movements in Brazil and other countries, where homophobia is being weaponised as a political tool to advance exclusionary agendas. These movements, which often align themselves with Trump’s rhetoric and policies, deepen the culture of hatred and intolerance, driving a wedge between communities and undoing years of progress in the fight for human rights and equality.
Contradictions in Foreign Policy: Ukraine, Israel, and “Peacemaker” Posturing
Trump’s foreign policy has been riddled with contradictions. On the one hand, he has offered unwavering support to Israel, endorsing its expansionist policies in occupied territories while simultaneously portraying himself as a broker of peace in the Middle East. His administration’s moves, such as recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and promoting its land grab of the Golan Heights, escalated tensions and undermined the prospects for a just and equitable resolution to the Palestinian question.
Regarding Ukraine, Trump’s historical ambivalence undermined global solidarity against aggression. On the one hand, he first questioned NATO’s existence. Then he insisted that its member states raise their war budgets to contribute to that body’s expansion – ignoring the broken promises made by Western leaders in the early 1990s not to increase membership beyond the German borders, which was a factor in Russia’s invasion. Then Trump wavered in his support for the Ukrainian government and leveraged U.S. military aid as a bargaining chip in what is likely to be the ongoing illegal occupation of the eastern and southern parts of the country by Russia. Trump has not ‘ruled out’ military force in his dangerous threats that the U.S. will retake the Panama Canal (which it held from 1903 to 1979) and occupy Greenland (currently under Danish rule). Despite these reflections of raw imperial ambition, Trump continues to posture as a worldwide peacemaker. This characterisation collapses under scrutiny when viewed against his consistent undermining of multilateral institutions and peace processes.
Obsession with China and Superpower Protectionism
Trump’s obsession with China epitomises his approach to global economic competition. Through a series of aggressive tariffs, accusations, and trade wars, he framed China as the singular threat to American economic supremacy. This narrow protectionism reflects the behaviour of a superpower unwilling to engage in fair global trade practices. While Trump’s critique of China’s trade policies may resonate in some quarters, including SAFTU, his strategy has hurt not only China but also developing economies reliant on fair global trade, particularly in Africa.
After all, Trump unilaterally imposed higher trade tariffs (10-25%) on $1.3 billion worth of South African aluminium and steel exports to the U.S. from March to October 2018. China’s reaction is to begin a decoupling from U.S. markets, a strategy that South Africa should also explore with allies, e.g. in the BRICS, because the Trump regime makes the U.S. a highly unreliable trading partner, one which due to withdrawal from United Nations climate obligations is essentially now going to cheat on emissions, by producing goods that will be cheaper because of much lower environmental regulations, and given Trump’s hatred of pro-worker regulations, we can expect the same cheating on goods produced in the country’s fast-declining unionised factories and service centres.
Retreat from Multilateralism and the Dangers of Unilateralism
Trump’s presidency was marked by a systematic withdrawal from key international institutions and agreements. His disdain for multilateralism was evident in the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, the World Health Organization (WHO), and threats to disengage from the World Trade Organization (WTO). These actions eroded global cooperation and emboldened other nations to disregard international norms.
These institutions are by no means allies of working class interests, especially the WTO: recall its failure to overturn ‘vaccine apartheid’ during COVID-19 despite the South African government’s 2020-22 requests for Intellectual Property waivers on life-saving medicines. Recall the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change’s ridiculous annual conferences – as we witnessed in Durban in 2011 and last year in Baku, Azerbaijan – that are utterly dominated by fossil fuel interests and that fail to cut greenhouse gas emissions or to recognise the big polluters’ climate debt. Nevertheless, the UNFCCC, the WHO and WTO currently exist to manage international climate catastrophes, pandemics and unfair trade chaos. Hence, Trump’s wreckage of multilateralism deserves punishment, such as trade sanctions (the ‘Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism’ is one such tariff that can be applied against U.S. goods and services). A ‘Just Transition’ for affected workers and communities would be appropriate to begin designing to address the need to decouple South Africa from the U.S. due to Trump’s irresponsible use of tariffs and rejection of multilateralism.
Historically, the United States’ unilateral geopolitical actions, such as the 2003 invasion of Iraq without UN Security Council approval and its persistent UNSC veto of anything critical of the Israeli genocidaires, have had devastating consequences. Trump’s preference for unilateralism amplifies the risks of similar actions, undermining international law and eroding the legitimacy of institutions meant to preserve global peace and stability. While rooted in claims of the unfairness of international trade reflected in vast Chinese surpluses (due to their implicit subsidies such as hostility to trade unionism), Trump’s withdrawal from the WTO will probably amplify the institution’s historical bias against the Global South, including African economies that remain disadvantaged by global trade systems, because the alternative to the WTO is more explicitly imperialist bilateral trade arrangements.
Those deals that may carry certain benefits to some manufacturers – e.g. multinational corporations making automobiles, steel, aluminium and petrochemicals in South Africa – are now threatened by Trump’s allies in the U.S. Congress. This year, they will probably end about R60 billion in annual trade benefits the firms (and their workers) receive through the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act due to the South African government’s correct stance against Israeli genocide at the International Court of Justice. We may also note that for decades, U.S. governments – whether under Trump/Bush Republican or Biden/Obama/Clinton Democratic Party rule – have ignored their own ‘international rule of law’ rhetoric by ignoring and now forcefully attacking the two Hague courts, which have taken decisions critical of the Israeli genocidaires.
Climate Denialism in the Face of Global Calamities
Perhaps most alarming is Trump’s continued climate denialism. In the face of increasingly devastating climate-related disasters, including since the November 2024 election within the United States, wildfires (devastating even Trump’s wealthy Los Angeles allies, as he pointed out as ‘interesting’ in his inaugural speech), extreme droughts, hurricanes, floods and unprecedented snowfalls (in Florida!), his refusal to acknowledge the urgency of climate change is both reckless and dangerous. His administration’s rollback of environmental protections and withdrawal from international climate agreements will jeopardise global efforts to keep the world safe from unsustainable climate change and place millions of lives at risk.
The consequences of such policies are not theoretical. Communities worldwide, particularly in the Global South, are already bearing the brunt of climate change, with catastrophic droughts and fires, floods, and heat waves displacing millions and wiping out food sovereignty. Trump’s denialism and inaction on climate change represent a grave threat to humanity’s collective future.
The Rise of Right-Wing Ideologies
Trump’s resurgence mirrors the dangerous rise of right-wing ideologies across Europe and in parts of Asia, Latin America, Africa and elsewhere. These movements are marked by homophobia, anti-migrant rhetoric, patriarchy, racism and the scapegoating of vulnerable populations for economic and social challenges. Such ideologies deepen divisions within societies, foster hostility, and undermine the principles of equality and human dignity.
Trump’s policies—from banning migrants from Muslim-majority countries to mass deportation plans (11 million Mexicans have been targeted) and separating children from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border—are sickening reflections of these divisive and harmful tendencies. These actions not only violate fundamental human rights but also fail to address the root causes of migration and inequality, perpetuating cycles of violence and poverty.
Conclusion
Donald Trump’s second coming represents a renewed threat to global solidarity, equality, and sustainability – the very themes South Africa will promote while hosting Trump as part of the G20 this year. His brand of narrow nationalism, climate denialism, and disdain for multilateralism endangers the progress made by international movements committed to justice and solidarity. His influence has emboldened homophobic leaders and movements across the globe, exacerbating intolerance and reversing the gains made in human rights.
While the Gaza cease-fire is to be welcomed if it holds, the Israelis will receive even more U.S. weapons – including 2000-pound bombs – to attack other parts of Palestine, as is being witnessed this week in Jenin and probably will receive Trump’s approval to occupy the West Bank fully.
SAFTU calls on progressive forces worldwide to resist the rise of Trumpism and its counterparts globally. We must intensify our efforts to build a world rooted in fairness, cooperation, and sustainability, rejecting the divisive ideologies that threaten humanity’s collective future.
Specifically, we suggest that when U.S. government representative such as Mario Rubio – the neoconservative ultra-Zionist Foreign Minister – visits Nasrec as part of the G20 foreign ministers’ meetings on February 20-21, activists from pro-Palestine and climate movements join workers to protest outside. We will do the same if Trump is given a State Visit in November, as President Cyril Ramaphosa has foolishly decided to offer the U.S. President.
And as Trump imposes tariffs on South Africa and the rest of the world, we too will lobby for “BDS USA” – Boycott Divestment Sanctions against U.S. products. Such a strategy based on international people’s solidarity is already underway against Israel and fossil fuel companies – and is what assisted in bringing down apartheid when financial sanctions hit in 1985, forcing a split in the ruling class between badly affected English-speaking white businesses and the apartheid regime’s Afrikaner rulers, as a divide-and-conquer.
With Elon Musk’s Nazi-style salute on the day of Trump’s inauguration and his boyhood in Gauteng to consider, it is entirely appropriate that we work with affected U.S. trade unions and progressive organisations, perhaps starting with a call to boycott X.com (Twitter), Tesla, and SpaceX (Starlink), so that we can signal how Musk’s enormous wealth increase since he invested $275 million in electing Trump, can also be undone once neo-fascism moves from a threat to reality.
