Donald Trump's Historic Presidency: A Shift in Global Politics

By Hasan Kamal, Tr. New Age Islam Translated from Urdu by New Age Islam 31 January 2025 From a surprise victory to a ceasefire in Gaza, Trump's first days in office signal a change in U.S. foreign policy and international alliances, reshaping relationships with key leaders like Netanyahu, Modi, and Imran Khan. Donald Trump became the 47th President of the United States. His presidency itself is a miracle, because until the election results were announced, no one knew he would win, including the American media, the Indian media, and even ourselves, to be honest. However, we had said that in the end, Donald Trump would win. There are several historic moments in his becoming president. The first historic event was that the temperature in Washington was well below freezing, an extraordinary cold. As a result, Trump's inauguration, which was supposed to be held on a large scale in an open field, was moved indoors to the Senate chambers, which are enclosed on all sides, due to the cold. The interesting part is that it was previously said that those attending the inauguration ceremony had to pay between $25,000 to $100,000. Well, the public benefited by saving that money. But that was merely a coincidence. The real historic moment came when it was revealed that, at Trump’s insistence, a sudden ceasefire was announced in war-torn Gaza, which no one had expected—not even us. During his campaign, Trump realized that not only all Muslims in the U.S. but especially Palestinians and Arabs were ready to vote for him. It is also important to note that these Palestinian Arabs had met with Joe Biden as well as Donald Trump during the campaign. Their meeting with Biden had not been very hopeful, but since Trump had taken an anti-war stance, the Palestinians believed that he would not allow a war in Gaza. It should also be noted that Donald Trump's statement was not a press release, nor political rhetoric; rather, it was a political action. Before assuming the presidency, Trump had stated that the ceasefire in Gaza would last for six weeks, and if anyone violated it, strong action would be taken. This was not just a statement; you could call it a political stance because Trump had clearly said that the agreement would start on January 19, and he would monitor it for three months. What happens after that would be decided later. The agreement had been guaranteed by Sheikh of Qatar, Egypt, and the United States, ensuring its implementation, and it was clear that work had already begun on this agreement. According to the terms, Israeli prisoners held in Gaza would be released, and it was also agreed that for every Israeli prisoner released, between thirty to fifty Palestinian prisoners would be freed by Israel. For Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump's attitude was completely incomprehensible. Historically, every U.S. president has stood by Israel. It was said about Barack Obama that he didn’t even want to see Netanyahu's face, but he also couldn't distance himself that much. For the first time, Netanyahu realized that the world’s greatest ally, the U.S., had now abandoned him. And not just abandoned him, but wanted him to provide proof of that abandonment. Netanyahu presented this agreement before the Israeli cabinet. The cabinet had a total of 32 members, and 24 of them voted in favour of the agreement. Only 8 members opposed it. In any case, the agreement was approved. Israel's most powerful intelligence agency had previously informed Netanyahu that his influence in Israel was waning, and that he was now a prime minister only on paper. There were several other historic moments in Donald Trump’s rise to the presidency. The committee that decides which heads of state will attend the inauguration had included Xi Jinping, the president of China, and a staunch adversary of the United States. It is said that he refused to attend, but he did have a phone conversation with Donald Trump. Interestingly, Trump did not send an invitation to his dear friend Narendra Modi. It is also strange that, just like all world leaders, the Indian government was formally sent an invitation. So, if Narendra Modi had wanted to, he could have easily attended, though he wouldn’t have been granted the status of a state guest. If he had attended, he would have had to strain his eyes to figure out which line he was in. In any case, Narendra Modi declined to attend, and we believe it was a wise decision. In these columns, we have written before that Trump’s arrival is good for some and bad for others. We also mentioned that the friendly relationship between Narendra Modi and Trump was about to end. We still believe that the relationship between the U.S. and India will not be negatively affected, but Modi, who has projected himself as a god-like figure in India, with millions of fans who share the same belief, must now realize that the absence of an invitation from the U.S. means that the power of his prime ministership has been diminished. Like his close friend Benjamin Netanyahu, he too is now just a prime minister on paper. Donald Trump's arrival is somewhat beneficial for Imran Khan in the sense that he congratulated Trump on his election victory and also stated that he did not want any help from him for his release. He wanted to be freed solely with the support of the Pakistani people. However, it is widely known that Trump likes Imran Khan. It's not that Trump would directly call the Pakistani government to ask them to release Imran Khan, but there are many other channels through which such a message could be conveyed, one of which could be the behaviour of the U.S. ambassador in Pakistan, which holds considerable influence. It is also said that it is highly possible that Zalmay Khalilzad could become the new U.S. ambassador to Pakistan. If that happens, it would be a shock to Pakistan's establishment, so much so that they might be left reeling. But all these developments show that the winds of global politics are certainly shifting. ------ Urdu Article: The Political Winds Are Changing In the World دنیا میں سیاست کی ہوا کا رخ بدل رہا ہے URL: https://www.newageislam.com/current-affairs/donald-trump-historic-presidency-global-politics/d/134481 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism