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Opinion | A President Trump in Year of the Dragon may just put out flames of war
- Neither Biden nor Trump is the US leader the world needs. But Trump is more likely to seek a detente with China, Russia and perhaps even North Korea, bringing the world back from the brink
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The proverbial leopard may never change its spots but the zodiacal dragon may shed its scales and douse its fire in the Lunar New Year. What this means in less cryptic terms is that things might just turn out better than expected for the world this year.
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Once the (supposedly) docile zodiacal Rabbit quits the stage to make way for a (reputedly) fiery Dragon, things might not get as hot as some fear. Much depends on possible changes in US leadership and the global consequences.
It may be nominally an “American” election being held in November but, in reality, it is more of a global contest. We are a long way from achieving world government yet, so much of global consequence flows from who gets to govern the United States, which is of universal importance.
With Donald Trump having secured victory in the early battles for the Republican Party nomination, many commentators see this as a potential disaster. But such an outcome could prove positive for those who care about the world’s welfare, or even survival.
Trump was a chump in many ways during his presidency, not least with regard to his administration’s economic policies. But at least he did not go around seemingly intent on making enemies of other world leaders to the extent that his successor, Joe Biden, has done.
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The intention here is not to attempt a postmortem examination of the respective policies of the two men but to consider a “what if” scenario under which Trump returns to power despite the risk of being cast into jail or bankrupted by the financial damages awarded by US courts.
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