Opportunities and challenges | The Manila Times

DONALD Trump won decisively last week in the US presidential elections, defeating Vice President Kamala Harris, who put up a good fight despite her late entry in the race after President Joe Biden decided not to run for reelection. Trump's convincing win got the world buzzing about what to expect from him in the next four years. His record as the 45th president had a substantial impact on American policy and international relations. Tax reform, deregulation and his "America First" approach re-shaped alliances and trade agreements.

But his controversial positions on immigration and border security, contentious handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, impulsive and unorthodox outreach to totalitarian leaders, influence on the judiciary, sharp criticisms of Ukraine and NATO, a trade war with China, and hostility toward those who opposed him, left behind a legacy marked by both loyal support and deep opposition. Will he shake up the Pentagon with the kind of generals that Hitler had? What will happen to all the pending legal cases? Questions abound on whether the next four years will be for the better, more of the same, or worse.