Yes, it’s still unreal. Donald Trump will indeed be the president of a super power.

Much has already been written on what a tragedy this is to the world at large. Trump, in uncountable ways and contexts, makes no sense. He stands out from the puzzle that has been the United States under Barak Obama. With all his flaws, the now former president was a strong advocate and implementer of liberal values and rights. America did indeed get saner during his rule, at least compared to the onslaught that was in the time of George Bush Jr. The America of that time chose Bush over Kerry but that was still not as bad as choosing Trump over Hillary. Anyways, in the words of Piers Morgan, the (snowflake) liberals need to get over it.

Now for the world of Trump. Somehow, he might just be able to find a resolution to the Syrian crisis sooner than we expect. For once he was right when he insisted that Putin liking him was in fact an asset. The war has gone on too long and the powerful states that are addicted to proxy wars must sit down on a table and agree to an end to it. The solution is apparent. Assad must be given his territorial power and influence back with a promise to eventually introduce democratic reforms in the country. As has been seen in the case of Iraq and Libya and indeed Syria, no democratic infrastructure exists yet to replace the dictators. In the vacuum left behind, opportunist groups take advantage, dragging the country into chaos. Trump must convince Russia to force Assad into introducing democratic reforms in the country even if they are feeble attempts.

Trump has shown his disregard for the Palestinian cause blatantly. He was against the 2334th UN resolution that braded the state’s occupation illegal and has already voiced his preference to shift the US embassy for Israel to Jerusalem, effectively recognising the disputed city as part of Israel. No other country has done the same. To make an even louder statement, he has appointed David Friedman as the ambassador to Israel and Jared Kushner as the middle east peace envoy. Both of these gentlemen are staunch supporters of Israeli settlements and will be rooting for a one-state solution. This of course is a big problem. In the days that follow, there would be an obvious loggerhead between the proponents of the two vs one state solution. US and UK, the latter due to a last moment change of sides, will fiercely oppose the EU and the Muslim countries. Trump has to be careful about this particular issue given how it strikes a sensitive nerve with a big, emotional, part of the world. Maybe, he would remain as hasty as he was during his campaign and actually move forward with his plans. Seeing his attitude since his election, this would not be a surprise.

Trump is a businessman and, in his own words, he is a successful one. Hence, we might expect him to be sharp in his economic policies. During the campaign, he often insisted that he would put a check on Wall Street and make sure that they are accountable and transparent. As Bernie Sanders puts it, this does seem solely campaign rhetoric given his choice of cabinet. Almost everyone is a multi-millionaire. Some of them are even billionaires and heirs to empires that spread across the world. With this group at the helm, it is rather foolish to expect the economic policies under Trump to target the welfare of the common American. Trump will be ensuring a richer elite, maybe hoping that the money will trickle down to the poor. As seen by countless examples in history, this is a false hope.

If nothing else, this is an interesting social experiment. Trump brashly goes against most of Obama’s liberal values. He is a man who stands in complete contrast to the ethics demanded from the cultured European states. He is an Islamophobe who fails to understand the history behind some of the oldest conflicts in the world. Yes, giving him power and seeing him wade through the murky reality that is this world is scary, but an interesting experiment nonetheless. Let’s see what the world under Trump looks like. That is, if there is a world left to look at.