SA was in US President Donald Trump’s crosshairs this week when he announced that he would cut donor funding to the country pending an investigation into allegations of land confiscation and human rights violations.
At the weekend it was the UK, and a few days before that it was about the imposition of trade tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China. At the same time, his administration was deporting migrants at various stages of processing their citizenship.
In a campaign against diversity, equity and inclusivity, support for black, Hispanic, Asians, Native Americans and Pacific Islanders is being cut.
In one fell swoop Trump has also rolled back decades of advances in the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, declaring that “henceforth the official policy of the US government is that there are only two genders, male and female”.
And, withdrawing from the 2015 Paris climate agreements could cause the weakening of a global response to an existential threat facing humanity.
US aid for some of the most pressing issues in the most desperate parts of the world is under threat, while multilateral institutions such as the World Health Organisation, will be hollowed out.
Where will the resistance to this untrammelled, undemocratic, divisive force come from? If we look at this in concentric circles, at the core is the US public.
Writing in The Atlantic, David Frum has argued that “Trump’s opponents seem dazed, disoriented and defeated”, and his advice is “build unity from the centre, rather than indulge the factionalism of the ultraleft”.
This is already being seen in the Democratic Party distancing itself from progressive figures such as Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, despite their popularity nationally with young people and working-class voters — constituencies the Democrats desperately need to win back.
The problem is that the right wing has painted just about every progressive cause red, be it support for Palestine, peace in the Middle East, gender self-identity, universal healthcare, women’s rights, support for multilateral institutions, gun control or other humanitarian causes.
Another option for US citizens is the graceful example of Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde, who pleaded with the president to “have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now”.
If these various forces, left and centrist, religious and secular, can be linked in a progressive agenda to address the dire conditions many American families find themselves in, the Democrats could just experience a change in fortunes when the midterm elections are held in November 2026.
In the next circle we can consider the responses of former close allies of the US. Canadians’ response to the tariffs — grassroots mobilisation to boycott US goods — will affect US states on its border such as Michigan and Maine, where Trump received widespread support in the recent elections.
The EU is seemingly looking to make lemonade out of the lemons it is being handed in the form of possible tariffs, with European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde calling on firms to reinvest in Europe while attracting disaffected US talent to the continent and strengthening relations with other countries.
India and China moved proactively last year to improve commercial links between themselves, accessing their respective huge markets.
The corporate world, as embodied in the World Economic Forum, remains largely committed to promoting diversity and inclusivity at the workplace. Many business leaders pointed out how carbon-cutting policies and practices have been good for their bottom lines, with a majority citing climate change as the primary risk they face.
What is required is a joining of the dots in the various circles, so that a united front emerges — as happened in the fight against Nazism and fascism; this time to preserve the democratic rights achieved in so many parts of the world and support the institutions that have been safeguarding and promoting these rights.
SA has a unique opportunity in hosting the G20. Political parties and movements, civil society, business, labour and intellectuals should unite around the theme our government has chosen — “solidarity, equality and sustainability” — to press home this progressive agenda.
• Abba Omar is director of operations at the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection.
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