As North Korea hails him as wise and far-sighted, does Donald Trump pose a threat to world peace?
Chad Wilcox, chief operating officer at the Institute of Economic Affairs, says Yes.
Donald Trump certainly poses a threat to world peace, though not for the reasons you might initially think. Libertarian political satirist PJ O’Rourke endorsed Hillary Clinton purely out of fear of Trump, warning, “they’ve got this button, you know? It’s in a briefcase. He’s gonna find it!”. But a rush to war is far from the most likely scenario. In fact, Clinton is the more interventionist candidate by some margin. What peace-loving people should fear in Trump is his abject, unapologetic, authoritarian opposition to free trade and free movement of labour. The former is the greatest engine of peace between countries the world has ever known; the latter is how people escape dangerous situations in search of a better life. It is not some alleged warmongering attitude, but rather Trump’s repeatedly stated authoritarian policies, that should inspire fear in all of us. The world could indeed be a darker place under his regime – particularly for the least advantaged among us.
Kurt Schlichter, an author, lawyer and retired US army colonel, says No.
While no particular fan of Donald Trump, the notion that his installation as president would usher in an unprecedented era of conflict and bloodshed would be amusing if the reality of today’s world was not so grave. In fact, it is the weakness and wilful blindness of liberal elites who refused to do what was necessary to achieve victory over Islamic fanaticism in Iraq and Afghanistan that has allowed those states to disintegrate – along with Syria, Libya, and much of Africa. The coddling of the Ayatollah guarantees a confrontation when Iran inevitably goes nuclear, while China and Russia seek to take advantage of the American leadership void. Trump merely exemplifies America’s Jacksonian streak, that of the patriotic folks who fight and die in our wars (as opposed to the liberals who start them), men and women willing to fight to defend their country as long as their lives are not wasted. He could hardly do any worse.