Trump: Season 2

In November 2024, I wrote that when the U.S. sneezes, the world catches a cold. But now, it seems that when Trump sneezes, the world has only two months left to live. Since November, he has been inaugurated, made new political promises and ambitions, and formed a new government. What will 2025 look like with Trump at the helm of the "free world"?

Writer: Kine Lie
Translator: Rebekka Berg
Illustrator: Mia Serine Drange

A New Empire

During his campaign, after his victory, and in his inaugural speech, Trump declared that the U.S. is on its way to becoming "great again" by purchasing Greenland, renaming the Gulf of Mexico, and taking over the Panama Canal. A golden age that bears frightening similarities to colonialism and imperialism. But who will get to colonize Greenland? The U.S.? Denmark? Just like emissions targets, healthcare, and human rights, it seems that entire nations can be negotiated, bought, and sold. Such are the rules of American capitalism.

While undocumented and paperless migrants and refugees in the U.S. now fear deportation, Trump has begun to cleanse American society and culture of diversity and inclusion. In his January 20th speech, he declared that only two genders exist, while simultaneously announcing a state of emergency at the Mexican border to prevent what he calls illegal immigration. I personally spent the first two weeks of 2025 in Mexico with locals who were relieved that it was now embarrassing to call oneself an American, not a Mexican. Mexicans can now take pride in a growing economy, a female president, steadily cleaner air and streets, and a new, progressive public transportation system. If one overhears an American accent in the streets, people sigh, roll their eyes, and continue with their day after briefly feeling sorry for them.

A New Støre Government, Please?

Many of us sighed in unison and shook our heads when Trump announced his new cabinet. The disappointment grew even greater when media outlets revealed that Pete Hegseth was, in fact, not related to Morten Hegseth. Personally, I would have had more trust in Morten as Secretary of Defense. Perhaps then, the U.S. could have defended itself against racism, discrimination, and gun violence at home, rather than against marginalized Mexicans and ambitious Chinese abroad. Let’s hope Trump is as unlucky with his cabinet as Støre has been, and that they’re all replaced soon. A vaccine skeptic as Secretary of Health must surely be a recipe for disaster.

Oh well, while we wait for Trump to put an end to the war in Ukraine and expand America’s greatness—because what we really need is more American politics—we can at least hope that Season 2 of Trump is as entertaining as Season 1. If nothing else, perhaps Norway’s unemployment rate will benefit from Trump’s unpredictable and frequent rhetoric. After all, U.S. expertise is a significant part of the Norwegian job market.