I have this feeling that Donald Trump is presenting a facade of notoriety to tap into the racialism prevalent in America. The fact remains that if might be a level headed guy and assuming the personality of a hardliner in order to win votes. The Obama administration has left alot of bigots on edge in his wake. The fact remains that Trump would revert to his real self if elected president since he recognizes the fact that China is on an upward trajectory as far as the new global order is concerned. I tend to think that there would be no radical shift in the modus operandi of the American govt is concerned. In any event, congress and the judicial system have institutionalised checks and balances which would check any possibility of an imperial presidency. The sticking point remains that Donald Trump would abide by the American constitution since the American presidency places an individual between a rock and a hard place. By the way those are my thoughts.
The most frightening thing about a Trump presidency is that, militarily, it'd be business as usual. I'm concerned about his strategy, but isolationism may (long-term) prove useful in both the Middle East and Asian theaters (especially considering that our awful peacetime decision in Iraq basically carved out a hole, both politically and militarily, for the assumption of ISIS).
Again, I'd say it's a bit early to start discussing his foreign policy when he hasn't announced his cabinet, but the general strokes of his campaign can reveal a few (very trenchant) insights. Trump's mentioned the idea of reintroducing a tariff and beginning a campaign of trade wars, which could be pretty disastrous for the average American, considering how terribly we rely on imports. This policy would definitely engender antagonism towards America, which worries me and threatens the basis of his isolationism. It may end up being dove in spirit but hawk in flesh.
The idea of just pulling back from the table of global commerce is a frightening one. Just as Britain's vote to leave the EU destabilizes markets and devalues the Euro, ultimately weakening the organization they stood in, so to might America's flight from cordial, fair trade hurt financial markets around the globe. This isn't enough to go to war over, sure, but given that our balance of trade is firmly for imports and given that we will incur retaliatory tariffs
in addition to suspending preëxisting trade agreements, well, we might get hungry for a resource war.
