In worst of times we can still hope for the best

Some US allies' strong responses to the controversial points of view US president-elect Donald Trump made public in a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Florida, on Tuesday speak volumes of their deep concerns over the changes that will result from Trump acting as he said he will in his second term.

Less than two weeks before his inauguration as the 47th president of the United States, Trump took advantage of the wide-ranging news conference following Congress certifying his victory in the 2024 presidential election to declare "I am back". In the news conference, Trump intensified his push for US expansionism, refusing to rule out using military force to add Greenland to the US and retake control of the Panama Canal.

As well as railing against the Joe Biden administration's policies in different fields, particularly energy, and calling himself already the driving force behind the Gaza hostage talks, Trump continued to hold to the tough line on Canada he had revealed before, citing illegal immigrants and drug abuse in the US as excuses to threaten to impose "substantial" tariffs on Canada. He went further this time in saying that he could use "economic force" to turn Canada into the US' 51st state.

As such, no wonder many US allies have openly showed their concern, as the incoming US leader seems ready to pursue an "America first" agenda that has been increasingly preoccupied with what many are calling a new imperialist agenda.

Trump takes his reelection as president of the world's most powerful country as the endorsement of his policies by the US people, and therefore takes it as the green light for him to accomplish the rest of his unfinished God-given demolish-and-rebuild cause. But in actuality, it is the Democratic Party's failure in many regards that has led to his reelection rather than the appeal of his policies. The real test for leaders in the modern world is to demonstrate courage rather than impudence, vision rather than fancy, and the ability to do rather than undo.

As Paul Krugman wrote in the New York Times last month concluding his 25-year service for the newspaper as an opinion columnist, "We may never recover the kind of faith in our leaders — belief that people in power generally tell the truth and know what they're doing — that we used to have. Nor should we. But if we stand up to the kakistocracy — rule by the worst — that's emerging as we speak, we may eventually find our way back to a better world."

Now is the time to prepare for the worst while we can still find enough reasons to hope for the best.