The noose is tightening on former US president Donald Trump regarding his role in the effort to overturn the election that US President Joe Biden won. That effort resulted in the so-called insurrection wherein Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol to stop Iawmakers from certifying the election for Biden.
This is a test on the strength of the liberal democracy that the US is promoting worldwide. Trump is an aberration in US politics and Biden is being tasked to lead liberal democrats in righting the ship of state. If Trump is indicted, the next move would be to battle the backlash that it would bring. The conservatives in the US are still a sizable group, which is why the Republicans are wary of going all out against the former president. But Trump has apparently overstayed his welcome and liberal democrats no longer respect him.
If you ask me, Biden’s brand of leadership would be a better fit for us and even for the Bongbong Marcos presidency. The threat of nuclear war with China would be higher if Trump were president. For Trump, any help that the US would provide needs to be paid for. The cost of setting up a military base in the country to counter China expansionism would be sky high.
But I doubt if Trump could beat a reelectionist Biden. As I said, the Trump presidency was an aberration and even if he wins, his presidency would just be a caricature of his previous one. And chances are he would be indicted. Would Trump be able to win while conducting his campaign in prison?
The US is proud of its liberal democratic tradition. I say the intention now is to return to the status quo ante and move on from Trump. Of course, Trump will go down kicking. Whether prison can silence him or not is a good question. And whether he ends up going to prison or not is another good question. The fate of liberal democracy worldwide is now in Biden’s hands.
In this sense, I say it’s good that so far Marcos is following Biden’s lead. I won’t go with the argument that Marcos and the US are threatening the stability in the West Philippine Sea. Chinese leaders are bullies and they need to be placed in their proper places. And force seems to be the only language they know, which brings me to Marcos strengthening the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement or Edca that former president Rodrigo Duterte downplayed. A military base in Palawan would limit Chinese activities in the disputed waters. I pushed for that when Noynoy Aquino was president but anti-US pressure got the better of him. Who would have thought that Marcos would use Edca to strengthen our stance in the territorial dispute with China?
Marcos is turning out to be a better liberal democrat than what many expected him to be. This is probably the reason why attempts to paint him as black have been largely muted. I just hope he will continue following a liberal democratic path throughout his presidency. He should not embrace the dictatorial bent that was the undoing of his father.