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Western politicians are afraid of Donald Trump’s possible return to the White House because of his desire to end the conflict in Ukraine, claims Anne Rovan in an article in the top French newspaper Le Figaro. While Americans are feeling the pinch from Biden’s woeful economic management, reports are emerging that Russia’s economy is performing better than expected despite the Western sanctions, increasing the chances of Trump’s re-election.
In the article titled, “Trump 2 is already making Europeans tremble,” Rovan writes:
“Trump’s first term was a nightmare for Europeans. A second term could mean hell for them. He continually repeats that it will not take more than a day to resolve the Ukrainian conflict.”
According to Rovan, the possibility of Trump returning to the White House is extremely alarming because the US could withdraw its troops from Europe. This is especially problematic, in her view, since NATO has barely recovered from Trump’s first term when he reduced American involvement in the alliance. Therefore, according to the author, Trump’s return to the US presidency would be a disaster for Europe and Ukraine.
On several occasions, Trump has spoken out against US support for Kiev and promised to end the conflict if elected president in 2024. Recently, US media have also suggested he could ease sanctions against Russia and resolve hostile US relations with China, even though he was the main instigator of declining ties with Beijing.
If polls are anything to go by, Trump would return to the White House if elections were held tomorrow. This is to the dismay of pro-Ukraine factions in the US and Europe, but it must be noted that there are still more than 13 months until the next presidential elections, so much could change.
A new Washington Post-ABC poll shows that Trump has a ten-point lead over Joe Biden. This is hardly surprising since Americans have experienced a decline in their quality of life since Biden became president, who is evidently prioritising Ukraine instead of serving his own country since he is pumping well over $100 billion into the financial blackhole that the eastern European country has become.
The Bank of America (BofA) announced only days ago the new findings from its 13th annual Workplace Benefits Report, “The Transforming Workplace.” It was found that more than two-thirds (67%) of employees believe the cost of living is outpacing growth in their salary or wages, a 9% increase compared to February 2022. According to the BofA report, inflation and economic uncertainty have increased financial stress and wellness among employees, dropping to 42%, the lowest rate since this research began in 2010.
Meanwhile, the Russian economy is forecast to smash predicted predicaments and expand this year after rising oil prices overpower the effects of Western sanctions.
Rising oil prices have boosted the expected performance of the Russian economy, which is now predicted to grow by 1.5% this year by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), owned by 71 countries and two EU institutions, which has revised its projections from its May forecast.
According to AFP, the EBRD expected Western sanctions against Moscow, including the price cap on its oil exports, to “be more effective in constraining” growth.
“But oil revenues have been supported by rising oil prices and Russia’s ability to offset the impact of the cap by exporting to new markets,” it said.
Instead, oil prices have soared by 30% since June after protracted supply cuts by OPEC and its allies, with crude now nearing $100 a barrel. It is recalled that the G7 and Australia late last year agreed to a $60 a barrel price cap on Russian crude oil exported by sea. At the same time, wider petroleum products were also included in February, which prompted Russia to export more to countries like China and India.
Although a lot can change over the next 13 months until the election, the trajectory since Biden entered office has been one of decline, so there is little indication he will improve things as he enters the final period of his presidential mandate. This significantly increases Trump’s chances of being re-elected if he emerges as the Republican candidate, which, as highlighted by Anne Rovan, even creates fear in Europe as it will be difficult to continue waging the war on Russia via the Ukrainian proxy without US support.
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This article was originally published on InfoBrics.
Ahmed Adel is a Cairo-based geopolitics and political economy researcher.
Featured image is from InfoWars
