Opinion | Trump’s many victories will prove pyrrhic

Name: US appeals court allows Donald Trump’s tariffs to stay in effect
Uploaded: 2025-07-31T08:32:50.000Z
Duration: 3 min 1 s
Description: US appeals court allows Donald Trump’s tariffs to stay in effect

The US president’s arrogance and bullying have given him short-term wins but also embedded long-term resentment and opposition

Reading Time:3 minutes

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US President Donald Trump points towards reporters as he arrives at the White House on July 13. Photo: Zuma Press Wire/dpa

Richard Harris

Published: 4:32pm, 31 Jul 2025Updated: 5:42pm, 31 Jul 2025

You have to hand it to him. Six months into his second term, US President Donald Trump has largely done what he said he would – not many politicians can say that. He reigns supreme. The Supreme Court, Congress, federal civil service and Justice Department have all, it seems, been made to bend to his will, making his mercurial policies easy to execute.

He has negotiated trade agreements with the European Union, Britain, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Japan and South Korea to the great advantage of the United States – they now form a blueprint for other trading partners. New tariffs promise to bring in billions of dollars that will help pay for Trump’s tax cuts for rich Americans. He has reduced government spending and pushed through a huge fiscal bill to cut both taxes and welfare as well as tighten border controls.

He has slashed illegal migration numbers and reduced the extremes of wokeness that can choke society and destroy careers. Many stock indices worldwide have hit all-time highs, and the dollar has weakened helpfully for US exports. His genius is that he has filled investors with delight that blanket tariffs with major trading partners are settling at around 15 per cent – even though they averaged only 2.2 per cent six months ago.

His New York real estate negotiating tactic of issuing bullying threats that are rolled back at the first sign of resistance, aiming for high stakes and then chickening out, have surprised and frightened his counterparties. They have rushed to the table to buy time and agree to a great deal – for the US. Some have accepted much increased US tariffs while reducing their own to zero, others have promised hundreds of billions of dollars of investment in America. Good luck with that.

As if he did not have enough to do, Trump has played the statesman of peace, intervening to calm conflicts between India and Pakistan, Israel and Iran, Thailand and Cambodia, and Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. This may be his greatest legacy, motivated not only by hopes of being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize but also by a desire to show his power of persuasion (backed by US forces).

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US appeals court allows Donald Trump’s tariffs to stay in effect

For a man of venerable age, his energy in engaging with domestic and international politics, as well as his advancing of his eponymous business empire is, as he might say, bigly historic. The Trump administration can look back with much satisfaction on a highly successful period.

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