bullying abroad, concerns in the United States

You are never served so well as by yourself. In his Christmas message, posted on the social network Unsurprisingly, his outlook on the past year veers, in his inimitable style, towards self-congratulation: “We no longer have open borders, men in women’s sports, transgender choice offered to all or weak law enforcement. What we have, however, is a stock market and pension funds at their highest, crime at its lowest in decades, no inflation and, yesterday, 4.3% growth – two points better than expected. Tariffs have brought trillions of dollars to our growth and prosperity, and stronger national security than ever before. We are respected again, perhaps like never before. God bless America!”

True to form, the President of the United States disdains neither exaggerations, nor approximations, nor even lies. In reality, the results of the first anniversary are more mixed: externally, the United States is, if not more respected, more feared, that is indisputable; inside, Americans are more critical of the actions of the tenant of the White House.

Intimidation strategy

In recent weeks, the man who was elected on the promise of “America First” and a break with costly and endless external military operations, rained missiles on jihadists in Nigeria, threatened the Iranian mullahs “to come to the aid” of the demonstrators if their regime “violently killed them” (sic), posed in front of images of a new missile ship named Trump class, ordered an operation that stunned the world to capture the Venezuelan head of state Nicolas Maduro, and now promises to attack “within two months”, including by military force, the frozen solitudes of Greenland under Danish sovereignty.

“Donald Trump is trying to concentrate power in the White House, for both foreign and domestic affairs,” analyzes John Owen, expert at the Miller Center at the University of Virginia. So he chose to weaken international institutions and distance himself from our allies. For it to work, you have to maintain a reputation as a superpower and inspire a little fear.”

This strategy of intimidation would thus explain why the Ministry of Defense was renamed the Ministry of War, the reaffirmed ambition to make Canada “a 51st American state”, or the initial threats of massive customs duties, ultimately revised downwards. Trump would thus have remained faithful to the only school he knows, the one that trained him, at the time when he made his debut as a young real estate developer in the urban jungle of New York, where all attempts, especially bad ones, are allowed. A source of confusion, the choice of a policy marked by contradictions, even inconsistencies, would have no other aim than to paralyze those on the other side.

A damaged image

Familiar with television sets, John Bolton, the former national security adviser at the White House during Trump’s first term, now being prosecuted for disclosing confidential documents, offers a more brutal explanation: “He loves flattery and he sees the world through a single prism: What is important to Donald Trump?”

In the fall, because he was eyeing the Nobel Peace Prize, the president was obsessed only with imposing all-out mediation, sometimes at the cost of fragile or illusory initiatives, in Ukraine, Gaza or the Congo. This winter, the distinction having eluded him, he would only aim, through his bellicosity displayed recently in Venezuela, to improve an image damaged by the revelations on his links with the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, his drowsiness in public, his recurring ramblings (on the decoration of the ballroom of the White House…) and the questions of the press on the true state of health of this 79-year-old man, the oldest President in American history. It failed: according to a poll carried out the day after the raid on Caracas, only one in three Americans applauded the intervention.

Burgers still so expensive

And then, a successful military operation offers a good diversion from declining popularity. Failed again. According to the Gallup Institute, 36% of his compatriots approve of Donald Trump’s policies compared to 59% who disapprove: the lowest level ever recorded by a president after twelve months in office. According to Gallup, 68% of Americans would consider economic conditions to be worsening. Yes, the Wall Street stock market is at its peak, but mainly because of speculation on funds invested in artificial intelligence so exaggerated that some market analysts are predicting an upcoming crash. In fact, if American consumers take out their credit cards, it is especially the wealthiest 10% who, encouraged by lower taxes, keep the economy going. The others are suffering from rising prices which have not slowed down for a year. Unfortunate for a candidate who campaigned by promising to lower the price of burgers and milkshakes “very, very quickly”.

In The Wall Street Journal, the former chief of staff of former Vice-President Mike Pence, Republican Marc Short, sums up the uneasiness of many Donald Trump voters: “He was elected on two subjects: securing the borders and lowering the cost of living. On the first, he gets results. When it comes to cost control, his commercial agenda works against him.”

Customs duties on imported products mechanically contribute to their increase in price. Certainly, their entry into force, in the second half of 2025, did not cause the recession predicted by many economists. Partly because importers had anticipated the measure by building up stocks; partly also because the White House has often backed down under pressure from lobbies. But the absence of a predicted disaster has not improved the daily lives of households, the initial promise so hammered home, and maintains the persistent feeling of high cost of living.

Decrease in job creation, increase in unemployment

Added to this tension in the shopping basket is the deterioration of the economic climate. Job creation is slowing and the unemployment rate is slowly starting to rise: in December, it reached a four-year high (from 4.1% at the end of 2024 to 4.4%). In December, industrial activity was at its lowest point of the year.

“Companies are hesitant to hire,” worries Ralph, a broker from Florida, who normally votes Republican. Among young graduates, it’s dramatic. My son with his doctorate in biochemistry is still looking for a job. And around me, there are many people who fear seeing their jobs disappear because of the accelerated deployment of artificial intelligence.” The American debt also continues to rise and adds to the uncertainties. Trump is not the Superman of the American economy. For the middle class, the return to the “golden age” announced during his inauguration will wait.

King Donald

Massive dismissals of senior civil servants considered too lukewarm towards the new administration, deployment of the national guard in large cities, legal proceedings against critical civil servants, extension of the prerogatives of the presidency, unprecedented pressure on the media, attacks against counter-powers, attacks on the independence of the Central Bank, possible conflicts of interest notably with the reconversion of the billionaire’s family business into cryptocurrencies, dubious use of the presidential pardon… The democratic opposition denounces “the king Donald. “We have never seen in the past a leader so provocative and so devoid of any shame,” underlines Democratic Senator from Connecticut Richard Blumenthal.

Faced with the “revolution” that Donald Trump claims to embody, we must go back to the twelve years of Franklin Roosevelt, from 1933 to 1945, to find a president so determined to transform the American political system and the place of the United States in the world. Will his announced defeat in the mid-term congressional elections next November appease or unleash his frenzy? A year after the return of Donald Trump, America is both feared outside and divided within. There are still three years left.