With his MAGA fixation, Donald Trump undermining global supremacy of USA

A couple of months back, I happened to visit the US Consulate in Mumbai. All roads leading to the highly-secured facility were bursting at the seams as people waited in queues and in groups for their turn to attend an interview for a visa to the United States of America. Thousands of people presented themselves for the interview on that day, but many of them came out of the consulate crestfallen as their applications were rejected.

Getting a visa to the US is a laborious, expensive and time-consuming process. It is said that the current waiting period to get an appointment for the US visa interview is more than a year in India. Still, the demand for the US Visa is on the rise. It will remain so into the future not only in India, but across nations.

Now, let’s turn to the mercurial Donald Trump, who has just assumed office as the 47th President of the United States. In his inaugural address on January 20, he mostly painted a sorry picture of the US as a nation. He spoke about mounting debt, illegal immigrants, and lack of jobs for local Americans and what not.

Though he mentioned the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Palestine conflict, his talk majorly focused on the US itself. He seems to strongly believe that the US is not great anymore. So, he wants to make America great again! Of course, he banked on the Make America Great Again (popular as MAGA) narrative to win the polls. That way, Trump’s victory is a clear signal that the majority of core Americans are also under the impression that their country is not as great anymore.

However, the world still thinks that we are living in a unipolar world, the US is still the sole superpower and America is the land of opportunities. The rush at the US Consulates in India and at similar facilities around the world goes on to reinforce this view. But, it looks like that with his MAGA fixation, Trump is undermining the superpower status that the US is currently enjoying.

But will the flurry of decisions Trump has been taking after his ascendancy benefit the US?

His tough decisions against illegal immigrants and undocumented workers can’t be faulted. As a country, the US has every right to protect its bonafide citizens. Moreover, no country will raise any objection if it sends back all illegal immigrants. He has also scrapped birthright citizenship, which also can’t be faulted. His decisions on strengthening the US economy are not wrong either.

The administration has a debt burden of a whopping $36.22 trillion, nearly 123 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP), which stood at $29.17 trillion in 2024. As the world’s largest economy, it accounts for nearly 25 per cent of global GDP, but such a large debt, which exceeds the value of its entire economy by 23 per cent, does not augur well. Perhaps, realizing this, Trump seems to be keen on reviving America’s manufacturing sector.

During his virtual address to the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos a couple of days after taking charge, he announced that his government would go for a steeper cut on the corporate tax for those companies which would manufacture in the US. At present, the US has 21 per cent corporate tax.

He said he would reduce this to 15 per cent for companies with ‘Made-in-America’ products. Furthermore, after taking charge, he made his first overseas phone call to Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, popularly known as MBS. Trump claimed that his Saudi friend promised an investment of around $600 billion in the US. This investment is equal to 65 per cent of Saudi Arabia’s GDP!

As indicated in his address to Davos, Trump wants MBS to increase the Saudi investment to $one trillion. President Trump may make his first overseas visit to Saudi Arabia to convince his trusted friend from the oil-rich Gulf region to pour more funds into the US economy. Frankly speaking, it’s not a big deal for MBS to promise such large-scale investments as he heads Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund called Public Investment Fund (PIF) which is valued at nearly $one trillion.

With Trump planning to pump out more oil from the US soil in coming years, will MBS oblige Trump’s request? For the uninitiated, the US is home to the ninth largest crude oil reserves in the world.

But Trump’s latest attempt to put curbs on H-1B visas may backfire on the US economy. For, with this visa, the US is able to attract the cream of global talent into the country. This phenomenon has two benefits for the US. While this global talent is fueling the growth of the US economy, the countries which are losing their talent to the US are not able to make rapid progress. So, the US will remain the world’s largest economy as long as it is able to lure the global talent. But that can only happen with programmes like H-1B. That implies that the US needs the H-1B visa programme, not the other way around.

But with the US focusing more on itself and its interests, will the global superpower status be up for grabs in coming decades? That can’t be ruled out. However, the moot question is which country will replace the US at the pinnacle. When it comes to economic power, China currently occupies the second place. The Chinese economy reached $18.8 trillion in 2024. If India emerges as the third largest economy as projected, it will also be in contention for the coveted status. With the dominance of Indian-origin people in the US corporate world, India will definitely have more say in the global political and economic landscape.

If India becomes a developed nation by 2047, it can obviously vie for global superpower status. But that can only happen if the country’s leadership plays its cards well and with confidence! Will India seize this great opportunity and emerge as a true global power? One can fondly hope for that to happen.