President Joe Biden was sworn in as 46th president of the United States in an oath-taking ceremony the like of which has never been seen in living memory. It was preceded by chaotic scenes and bloody violence at the Capitol Hill on the day of ratification of the election results.
That day, the American democracy came under attack on the instigation of the sitting president who refused to accept the election results, blaming elections were fraudulent and the victory was stolen from him. The people who came to storm Capitol Hill thought they were participating in a revolution that would make ‘America great again’ by establishing white supremacy.
Trumpism is the epitome of white supremacy. It’s not something new in the US. The sentiment has been present in the USA historically. It’s only that Trump articulated it and tapped the hatred and division present in the Amer- ican society. Hatred is the most dangerous of emotions, and Trump exploited it for his personal gains.
This hatred was on the rise in recent decades with the changing demograph- ics of the USA. White supremacists are scared to death that white race will turn into minority not in a very distant future and that is simply not acceptable to them. The presidency of Barak Obama played a major role in bringing this dormant emotion of fear to the fore. It seems this hatred and division will continue to play an important role in the politics of the USA in coming decades.
The brief description above was to emphasise that Joe Biden has a much bigger and more difficult agenda at hand within the USA. He has to start the healing process in a society that is simmering with fear, hate and division. It’s not an easy job and will absorb most of the energy of the new adminis- tration, leaving it with little time and energy to fully engage with the rest of the world.
However, the rest of the world especially the allies of the US can heave a sigh of relief as Joe Biden is a veteran of the American establishment and he won’t break the norms of the long-established order.
The new administration will reengage with its allies healing the wounds of the Trump era. Trump was not only pursuing the policies detrimental to the interest of its allies, but was also very rude towards powerful leaders of the European Union in his personal interactions with them.
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