While much of the world heaved a sigh of relief at the return to normality that followed the election of Joe Biden as president, the US remains deeply divided. It was probably the worst-kept secret in the world that Donald Trump was planning to run for the top job in 2024, and in November he announced it officially. While he still has to gain the Republican nomination, early polling put him ahead of his main competitor, Ron DeSantis, and neck-and-neck with Biden if he wins the Democratic nomination and the two faceoff for the presidency.
The 2022 mid-term elections did not deliver the "red wave" of seats moving to the Republicans that many had expected (the Republicans ended up with control of Congress narrow margin while the Democrats kept control of the Senate) and many Trump-backed candidates failed to deliver. Critics have seen this as a setback for the Trump campaign, but Trump is still a force to be reckoned with.
A Quinnipiac University poll in November found almost 60% of Americans said they thought him running for president again was a bad thing, but around half expected him to win.
MORE OF THE SAME?
Overall, if he is elected, Trump's policy priorities are unlikely to differ from those of his first presidency. Most notably, his approach was America first. During his first presidency we saw Trump pull out of the Paris climate agreement, impose tariffs on the US's major trading partners and threaten to pull out of the World Trade Organisation, along with launching a trade war against China.
His major policy success was introducing tax cuts for high income earners and running an expansionary policy that boosted the US economy.
As a mid-sized player in international trade, Australia depends on a market that plays by the established rules.
This story is from the February 2023 edition of Money Magazine Australia.
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This story is from the February 2023 edition of Money Magazine Australia.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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