‘America first’? Donald Trump’s real agenda is ‘Trump first’

When political and economic analysts attempt to discern US President Donald Trump’s endgame, they often presume it is consistent with “Make America Great Again”, “America first”, “peace through strength” and whatever else he said on the campaign trail. But that is only part of the story. What has been left out is his unspoken agenda, which includes four basic things.

The first, of course, is the further enrichment of himself, his family and the wealthy at the expense of the less fortunate – Robin Hood in reverse. The benefits of the theoretical “trickle-down” tax cuts from his first term did not trickle down. The Tax Policy Centre estimated that in 2018, the top 20 per cent of income earners received 65 per cent of the tax benefits, while the bottom 80 per cent received 35 per cent.

If the cuts are renewed, the top 0.1 per cent of income earners could receive an average tax reduction of US$314,000, costing the government US$4.2 trillion between 2026 and 2035.

As for Trump’s focus on deregulation, while the efforts of the Trump administration initiative the Department of Government Efficiency are estimated to save billions, they will not come close to generating sufficient savings to pay for a renewal of the tax cuts.