Donald Trump’s tenure in the White House is over and as we reflect on the last four years, we must remember not to fall into the pit that is “Trumpism.”
But what is Trumpism? Well, it is a childish worldview where everything is defined in either black or white with not a trace of gray - or in other words - all or nothing.
Despite what Trump would have us believe with his many, many tweets, life is not so cut and dry, but convoluted and colorful.
Just like Trump’s administration.
When it comes to the good things Trump has done, one can talk about his ability to clearly differentiate between the “good guys” and the “bad guys” in the Middle East - something Barack Obama’s lauded administration actually failed to do.
Trump sent Nikki Haley to the UN - who helped change the organization’s somewhat hypocritical view on Israel - and he recognized the Golan Heights as an inseparable part of the country.
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President Donald Trump's aides applaud as he announces the Israel-UAE normalization deal from the White House, Aug. 13, 2020
(Photo: Reuters)
Trump also attempted to torpedo Iran’s nuclear program (as evidenced by Tehran’s joy at Biden being elected), and, of course, mediated four peace agreements between Israel and Bahrain, the UAE, Morocco and Sudan.
That is not all though. Trump in the last four years actually managed to change the equation in the Middle East.
He managed to show the world that Israel is not the issue, but the solution; that the Palestinian issue is not the key to peace with the Arab world, but an obstacle; and that terrorism is should be met with punishment and not rewarded.
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L-R: Bahrain FM Abdullatif al-Zayani, PM Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S. President Donald Trump, and Emirati FM Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan at the signing of the Abraham Accords at the White House, Sept. 2020
(Photo: AFP)
All these moves did not bring about a third intifada as was feared, but actually helped Israel thrive.
And despite all the good, there is of course, the bad.
These last four years we have seen the shame-filled faces of many good and proud Americans who felt that Trump s not worthy of being the leader of the free world.
He is, after all, a reckless, rash, selfish and irresponsible man, who single-handedly dragged the public discourse in the U.S. to an all-time low and whose refusal to accept defeat led to unprecedented violent riots that left five people dead.
It is his simplistic worldview that also made him completely botch the treatment of the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S., costing him another four years in the White House.
Trump has proven that an invisible enemy such as the virus is too much for him to contend with. He needs to see missiles, walls and topless towers to comprehend a situation to its fullest.
Without a doubt, the consequences of Trump’s tenure will be felt by the entire world.
And yet, we must not be ungrateful and ignore the good he has done for Israel.
We are, after all, people of intellect and varying world views, and not simply blind followers of “Trumpism.”