Just about three weeks since Donald Trump was sworn into office as the 47th President of the United States, he has ushered in a season of great anxiety following the deployment of what analysts and some psychologists are calling the ‘mad theory.’
At first, it appeared like there was no pattern to the ‘madness’. The mad man theory was first coined by President Richard Nixon who made outrageous threats during the Vietnam war to believe that America was ready to do anything to end the conflict.
In comes Trump. A threat of a land grab here, taking over of Panama Canal and annexing Greenland. A Controversy here, controversy there, a rollercoaster of some sort… with his Executive orders, affirmed at the stroke of a pen, causing extremely far-reaching effects for many countries around the world.
Not moved an inch by the endless dissenting voices surrounding his decisions, he has dared to go and inflict some more. He seems to believe that he can bulldoze opponents on the negotiation table to give concessions they could not normally give without his threats and fiats.
The latest reports indicate that Trump has unveiled plans to take over the Gaza Strip and ‘own’ it so that he makes a Riviera, remarks that have received condemnation from some world leaders.
Trump announced the presence of Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who is the first Head of State to visit the White House since his inauguration.
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“The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it, too. We will own it and be responsible for dismantling all the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the side, level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings, level it out and create economic development that will supply unlimited number of jobs…,” Trump said.
Gaza has been a theatre of genocide of monumental proportions and is home to over 2.1 million people who have been orphaned, widowed and displayed by years of rockets by Israeli forces.
For years, Israel has been mulling plans to create the Ben Gurion Canal through the Negev desert to connect the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, rivalling Egypt’s Suez Canal. This has been slowed by war.
International news agencies have reported swift rejoinders emanating from such decisions, which appear to be part of streams of ‘we have seen nothing yet’ scenarios under Trump’s administration.
The AFP for instance, reported that Palestinian militant group Hamas lashed out at President Trump’s shock proposal to take over the Gaza Strip and resettle its people in other countries.
According to AFP, Hamas, which seized sole control of Gaza in 2007, rejected the proposal, branding it a ‘racist’ idea.
“The American racist stance aligns with the Israeli extreme right’s position in displacing our people and eliminating our cause,” Hamas spokesman Abdel Latif al-Qanou said in a statement.
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The Agency also said Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas rejected the proposal.
“President Mahmud Abbas and the Palestinian leadership expressed their strong rejection of calls to seize the Gaza Strip and displace Palestinians outside their homeland. Legitimate Palestinian rights are not negotiable,” AFP reported Abbas’s office statement.
Trump’s remarks have come even before the dust from his earlier sentiments on South Africa, settles.
On Sunday, Reuters reported Trump’s remarks that “certain classes of people” in South Africa were being treated “very badly” and that he would cut off funding for the country until the matter is investigated.
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“South Africa is confiscating land, and treating certain classes of people very badly,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
“The United States won’t stand for it, we will act. Also, I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed!” Reuters wrote.
But South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa sent a statement on X saying, the country is a constitutional democracy that is deeply rooted in the rule of law, justice and equality and that the government has not confiscated any land.
“The recently adopted Expropriation Act is not a confiscation instrument, but a constitutionally mandated legal process that ensures public access to land in an equitable and just manner as guided by the constitution,” said Ramaphosa.
He continued: “South Africa, like USA and other countries, has always had expropriation laws that balance the need for public usage of land and the protection of rights of property owners. We look forward to engaging with the Trump administration over our land reform policy and issues of bilateral interest.”
He was optimistic that out of those engagements, they will share a better and common understanding of these matters.
“The US remains a key strategic political and trade partner for South Africa. Except for PEPFAR Aid, which constitutes 17 per cent of South Africa’s HIVAids programme, there is no other funding that is received by South Africa from the United States,” he stated.
Again, the highly publicized decision on USAID funding came as a shocker to many.
Trump’s push to close the agency has had huge ramifications not only for countries that depended on USAID funding but also for hundreds of thousands of workers.
The US, through USAID and PEPFAR, has played a critical role in strengthening Kenya’s healthcare sector by supporting malaria treatment, supplying essential drugs such as ARVs and anti-malarial, distributing vaccines, and training healthcare providers.
ALSO READ: Trump says US will take over Gaza, create ‘Riviera of the Middle East’
Programmes supported by foreign aid have since been suspended.
At the same time, democrats in the US have condemned this decision, terming it as unconstitutional.
But Trump’s right-hand man, Elon Musk termed USAID as a ‘criminal’ outfit.
In the foregoing, USAID has announced that it will place its staff across the world on administrative leave, which is to begin shortly before midnight on February 7.
Trump’s executive order on immigration is yet another major decision that he has vowed to implement.
The order, titled ‘Protecting the American people against invasion’ stated that over the last 4 years, the prior administration invited, administered, and oversaw an unprecedented flood of illegal immigration into the United States.
He said millions of illegal aliens crossed our borders or were permitted to fly directly into the United States on commercial flights and allowed to settle in American communities, in violation of longstanding Federal laws.
“This order ensures that the Federal Government protects the American people by faithfully executing the immigration laws of the United States,” he said.
Accordingly, he said a few days later that members of Congress are getting to work on one powerful Bill that will bring our Country back, and make it greater than ever before.
“We must secure our border, unleash American energy, and renew the Trump tax cuts, which were the largest in history, but we will make it even better – No tax on tips. It will all be made up with tariffs and much more, from countries that have taken advantage of the US for years,” he said on his X page.
“Republicans must unite, and quickly deliver these Historic Victories for the American People. Get smart, tough, and send the Bill to my desk to sign as soon as possible. Make America great again!” he added.
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is reportedly targeting at least 1,445,549 noncitizens from 187 countries.
Trump has also imposed tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada and China, while long promised not to worry of the potential economic disruption in addition to affirming new tariffs against Europe, as he reportedly accused it of treating the U.S. “so terribly.”
