"America First" could also mean American imperialism, and that is quite worrisome, writes ARD on the occasion of the new American president's first steps and the requests he has made.
"The Return of the King” - this is how Elon Musk marked Donald Trump's return to the White House. The richest man in the world will play an important role in the new term of the American president. The idea is for Musk to limit the bureaucracy in Washington and make the work of the administration more efficient, ARD recalls. Musk will probably be able to count on good contracts with the state for compensation.
The fact that Trump announced the upcoming American space mission to Mars in his inauguration speech was probably music to the ears of the director of the private space company SpaceX.
History is being rewritten
"The King" is not only writing history, but also rewriting it, ARD points out in this article. Trump has already pardoned those convicted of storming the Capitol, who tried to prevent the peaceful transfer of power in Washington four years ago. They all believed in the fiction of the "stolen" elections.
Yesterday, the returned "king" of America was greeted with thunderous applause not only by his supporters at the Capitol One Arena, but also by his party colleagues in the Capitol building. The Republican Party has never been so united, Trump said, and, like never, that is no exaggeration.
The return of the showman
The showman is also back - every step of Trump on the first day of his second term was accompanied by cameras. Never before has an American president signed decrees in front of his most loyal supporters in a sports hall, and then given a press conference. Trump will not be a "dictator for a day", he said himself. The new American president said that he believes in the inviolability of the right to vote. The hope is that he will continue to believe in this, writes ARD.
After his surprisingly decisive election victory, Trump no longer has any reason to doubt how American democracy works. All eyes were on him on his first day as US president, when he fulfilled a number of his campaign promises - withdrawing the country from the Paris climate agreement and the WHO, repealing regulations that imposed restrictions on fossil fuel extraction and declaring a state of emergency at the border. Promised and fulfilled - that's what voters wanted. After all, this is their country.
Deals, deals, deals
More worrying is what Donald Trump has revealed about his foreign policy strategy. The idea that "America first" could also mean American imperialism is worrying. After some of Trump's recent statements, many are already imagining the American flag flying over the Panama Canal, Greenland, Canada or even on Mars. But will all this really happen? Or is Trump building a threatening context that gives him a better negotiating position?
It seems that the threats of tariffs on Mexico and Canada are fulfilling this function - the idea is to protect the border and limit drug trafficking and human trafficking, writes ARD. Europeans will be expected to buy American oil. Then there will be no tariffs on them, Trump hints. Everything will be entirely on his terms. The king of deals is also back, the publication also points out.
Everything with Trump comes unexpectedly. Is he serious in his intentions? Will he do something good after all? Peace in Ukraine? This is one promise that Trump failed to fulfill on the first day of his second term - an end to the war against Ukraine within 24 hours, ARD also points out.