WHY TRUMP IS BAD FOR AFRICA
United States' Vice Presidnet Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. |
By Julius Ogunro
The US presidential election is
only a few days away and polls show Vice President Kamala Harris and former
President Donald Trump statistically tied with no clear sign of a victor. This
is probably the closest US presidential election ever. Harris, the Democratic
Party’s candidate, and Republican Trump are campaigning tirelessly in the
battleground or swing states, where both parties have no overwhelming support
and either can win, making the states highly competitive and crucial for the
outcome.
Whoever wins the election has
serious implications for the rest of the world, especially the continent of
Africa. Because what is on the ballot is more than just two persons vying for
office, but competing worldviews, ideologies and frameworks for global engagement.
With the outsize influence of the United States, this is as serious as it can
get, and whether you are interested or not, the November 5th US presidential
election will impact you nonetheless.
If it were left to some
Nigerians, Trump, the Republican nominee, would win hands down. This is
surprising considering that Harris, the Democratic candidate, is
African-American and the historic ties between the continent of Africa and the
Democratic Party, which, when in power, tends to implement more pro-Africa
policies than the Republican Party.
Why is Trump so popular among some Nigerian demographics? Three factors could be deduced for this.
1. Many Nigerians were
disappointed by the alleged role played by then-President Barrack Obama of the
Democratic Party in the 2015 Nigerian presidential election, which saw the
defeat of incumbent Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP by APC’s Muhammadu Buhari.
Although Obama didn’t come out for Jonathan or Buhari, many PDP supporters
alleged his undertone was pro-Buhari, who was marketed as the anti-corruption
candidate. They pointed to diplomatic pressures from the US, the threat to
sanction government officials involved in electoral malpractices and some other
subtle efforts to intervene in Buhari’s favour. Since then, many of these
Nigerians, especially from the southeast, which used to be a PDP stronghold,
have switched from supporting the Democratic Party to the Republicans, even
though this has no real electoral consequences.
2. The Republican Party
ostensibly represents traditional Christian values, especially regarding
marriage and family. This connects with many in Nigeria, a deeply religious and
homophobic country, where, according to Pew Research, over 90 per cent pray
regularly. Many Nigerians therefore gravitate to the Party that shares the same
conservative outlook. Conversely, they
see the Democratic Party as anti-religious and conservative norms, which push
the LGBTQ agenda and upends the natural order of society.
3. Finally, Trump is perceived as a strong man
and leader, mirroring the autocratic leadership style greatly admired and
popular in Africa, where military dictators, autocrats and despots who build
state institutions around themselves are fairly common.
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But is Trump good for Africa?
Based on his records as
president and antecedents, the short answer is no. A study of the policies, programmes and
actions taken by Trump, the 45th US president, shows a preponderance of
decisions that could be regarded as anti-Africa. History also shows a pattern
of his bias against black people. He was accused of discrimination against
blacks in the US as a businessman in the 1970s, with the US Department of
Justice successfully suing Trump Management, a company owned by Trump and his
father for racial discrimination by systemically refusing to let apartments to
blacks in New York City. He had also
been called out several times for racist comments about black people, which may
suggest an approach to Africa and its diaspora influenced by this long-standing
attitude of racial bias rather than genuine partnership or engagement with the
continent.
Trump campaigned for president
based on an ‘America-first’ principle, suggesting he would focus primarily on
his country and not lend helping hands to less-endowed nations accustomed to
looking up to the United States for leadership and support. As president, he
implemented a rash of policies that disproportionately impacted Africa
negatively. These ranged from
immigration restrictions to reductions in aid and strained diplomatic relations.
For instance, one of his first
major foreign policies, executed one week after Trump came to power, was a
travel ban on several Muslim-majority countries, many of which were African. It
restricted entry into the United States from these predominantly Muslim
countries, leading to significant controversy and legal challenges.
In 2020, the travel ban was
extended to include Nigeria, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar (Burma), Sudan, and
Tanzania. The prohibition on Nigeria was particularly significant as it
targeted immigrants seeking to permanently settle in the U.S. but allowed
non-immigrant travel to continue. President Joe Biden, who succeeded Trump,
reversed this ban on his first day in office.
The Trump administration also
proposed significant cuts to foreign assistance programmes, including those
targeting African countries. He also wanted a reduction in funding for USAID,
which is the soft-power arm of the US and has historically provided development
assistance in many African countries across several spectrums, including
health, education, humanitarian support, women's empowerment, and gender
equality programmes.
The policies and actions of
President Trump that had serious negative consequences for African countries
were too many to be captured sufficiently in one essay. Even several books may
not be able to do justice to them. So, let's just list a few: Withdrawal from
the World Health Organization (WHO; reduction of US diplomatic and economic
engagement in Africa; attempt to end the temporary protected status for African
immigrants in the US; and limited support for peacekeeping and conflict
resolution on the continent.
In conclusion, many of Trump’s
policies and actions, particularly on immigration, aid, trade, diplomacy, and
security, adversely affected African countries and their people. But, perhaps,
nothing reflects his attitude toward Africa and black people more than the
derogatory comments he made in 2018 when he reportedly referred to African
nations as ‘’shithole countries.’’ Those two words were packed with his history
and attitude of racism and discontent for people of African descent and their
origins.
Yet Trump may win, with substantial support
from African-American men who see him as a model of strong leadership. If that
happens, Africans should brace for a continuation, if not intensification, of
his policies that could further discriminate against the continent and people
through harsher immigration measures, reduced aid, and a dismissive diplomatic
engagement.
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