Five contradictions that underline Project Trump

Donald Trump's spectacular win was based on sharpening contradictions. His success will depend on reconciling them

- Prashant Jha

Donald Trump will walk into the Oval Office on January 20, 2025, with unprecedented political legitimacy. His decisive win in the electoral college, a sweep of all swing states, the support of a majority of Americans, the Republican capture of the Senate, the party's possible win of the House, his authority over the ideological and organizational network of the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, and the utter destruction of the political morale of American liberals and Left gives Trump political room to implement his vision.

But such a dramatic electoral win is only possible if it is based on an aggregation of interests, a coalition of groups, and a torrent of promises, all of which are sometimes at odds with each other. The test of a political campaign is in the ability to construct as wide a tent as possible to win the maximum number of votes, one that Trump passed spectacularly. The test of governance is in the ability to mediate between the conflicting interests that make up this tent, and factor in even those interests that may not be a part of it but are a part of the national tent. This is the test that Trump will embark on next January.

There are five tensions at the heart of the Trump project that span political economy, politics and foreign policy. The first is between his promises of lower prices and higher tariffs. Trump's solution for lower prices is more energy production; he claims this will lower gas prices. The economic applicability of this argument at this moment is suspect—the United States (US) is already seeing record levels of energy production; while gas prices contributed to inflation, it wasn't the sole reason; inflation is dipping and the Fed is lowering interest rates.