Trump's Second Coming: Can the ‘Miracle President’ Defy the Odds to Deliver Peace, Power, and a New America?
Inauguration Day, January 20, 2025, for many Americans, marks a new dawning for the country—or that’s how it should be perceived. For others, it’s the unbearable and intolerable reality of a man seen as the antichrist of U.S. politics.
It’s Trump Mark II who took the podium to be sworn in as the 47th President of the United States and not the politically naive Trump of 2016.
The Trump 2025 version is a different model. The "Orange Man" may be slightly older, but he is politically sharper, smarter, and acutely aware of who he can and cannot trust.
The world is a different place than when Trump was defeated in 2020 under controversial, dubious circumstances. Historians of the future will define Trump’s 2020 loss not as the beginning of the end of the "American Empire’s" decline, but as the accelerated period of decay—comparable to a stage-four cancer diagnosis, where it’s only a matter of time.
Trump’s swearing into office, with all the pomp and ceremony of the inauguration, was, in any fair-minded person’s eyes, a historical victory like no other. Trump, if for no other reason, will be seen as the miracle president—the man who fought for four years to regain what he believed was rightfully his.
Assassination attempts, lawfare, media persecution, and unrelenting attacks from both political adversaries and factions within his own party only served to galvanise Trump and his most loyal supporters.
His return to the Oval Office wasn’t just a personal triumph but a testament to the deep divisions and evolving dynamics of American society. Yet, as he begins his second term, the challenges ahead are monumental, even for a figure as polarising and determined as Trump.
Among the pressing issues, Trump’s efforts to secure a ceasefire in the Middle East stand out as a potential diplomatic milestone. His outreach to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping demonstrates a desire to recalibrate America’s role on the global stage.
His ambition to broker peace in Ukraine, while ensuring that American interests remain safeguarded, signals a shift from the hawkish tendencies of many of his predecessors.
However, these endeavours face fierce opposition. Trump’s inner circle, stacked with neoconservative and Zionist influences, often prioritises aggressive foreign policy and unwavering support for Israel. His intent to bypass powerful lobbies like AIPAC to pursue a more independent foreign policy will test both his resolve and the limits of presidential power.
Trump's renewed push for a Middle Eastern ceasefire and end the Ukraine war suggest he envisions his legacy as a peacemaker, contrary to the expectations of many within his political base. However, scepticism abounds about whether he can overcome entrenched opposition from hawks within his administration and Congress, who may see such moves as undermining US dominance or neglecting strategic alliances.
Domestically, Trump’s promise to "Make America Great Again" requires tangible results beyond slogans. Rebuilding trust in institutions, addressing economic disparities, and restoring a sense of national unity are critical priorities. But achieving these goals in a nation still deeply polarised requires political dexterity and, potentially, compromises that may alienate portions of his base.
At the heart of Trump’s second term lies the existential question: what does "making America great again" truly mean in a fragmented and polarised country? Is it economic resurgence? A reassertion of American sovereignty on the world stage? Or is it the revival of a cultural identity that many feel has been eroded over decades?
Trump’s supporters believe he has the vision and tenacity to achieve this. Yet, the opposition—from institutional inertia to relentless media scrutiny—remains formidable. While his detractors view him as a demagogue, his supporters see him as the antidote to a system corrupted by globalist and elitist interests.
Trump’s second presidency will likely be defined by his ability—or inability—to navigate the tension between his vision and the competing agendas of those around him. Any attempts to sideline AIPAC and other powerful lobbies may prove pivotal, but also perilous. His supporters want to believe he can achieve the seemingly impossible: fostering peace abroad while restoring greatness at home.
Whether history judges him as a miracle worker or a misguided disruptor remains an open question. But one thing is certain: the world is watching, and America’s next chapter under Trump will be anything but predictable.
There’s one thing for sure: Trump won’t be able to arrest the rapid end to the empire and America may never be great again.
When was America great? And what does great mean? Great as a military power, sure, since the Second World War particularly where Americans rode on the blood-drenched back of war, but that does not make a country or its people great in any worthwhile sense.
The US has always had grinding levels of poverty and inequality, despite its huge wealth. Nothing great about any of that. Americans on average, have, and have had for a long time, the poorest quality of life of any developed nation. They have the lowest wages, worst worker rights and least benefits and the least social welfare support in the developed world. Nothing great about any of that.
Does he mean great in that mythical American way of being exceptional, superior, God's chosen, a Light Unto the World kind of great? Probably all of it and none of it.
They have wealth and huge natural resources but nothing great about that either. I suspect Americans see becoming great again as being a State where more people can have a decent quality of life and the chance of bettering themselves as did exist for periods in times past.
But is that what Trump means? I don't think Trump values military greatness but I suspect he values economic greatness which is really another form of military power and has always been used as such by the US.
In truth, Make America Great Again, is probably no more than a slippery political catch-phrase to draw in supporters. If Trump is smart he will find out what Americans think he means by MAGA and deliver.
Trump WILL accomplish several things. He will make himself and his family MUCH more wealthy (think at least ten to twenty billion dollars' worth!). He will entrench an oligarchy in power. He will appoint still more ideologue judges, reducing the chances of justice yet further. He will increase the national debt enormously, possibly triggering a default. He will reduce regulations, thereby enabling far more pollution and disruption to the balance of Nature, and he will do everything in his power to accelerate global warming.
I believe it was Pope Leo X who said, "“Since God has given us the papacy, now let us enjoy it.” Trump and his followers believe that his ascension to the Office he now befouls was similarly directed by the Almighty, and he has every (divine) right to enjoy it to the fullest. Moreover, thirty to forty million people believe he is infallible. Hmmm.... Welcome to the United Christo-fascist States of America.