At precisely 5pm Irish time, Chief Justice John Roberts of the United States will invite Donald Trump to lay his left hand on the bible, raise his right, and take the oath of office of President of the United States. Technically, as a matter of interest, Mr. Trump will be President before he ever finishes the oath, since the laws of the land specify that he becomes President at precisely midday eastern time on January 20th. It will be a moment of rejoicing for tens – nay hundreds – of millions of people around the world, and a moment of fear and trepidation, if not outright despair, for hundreds of millions more. Such are the at times irrational emotions that people invest in politics.
The bottom line is this: Donald Trump has promised that he will “make America great again”. In order to judge this second presidency of his, we therefore require some sort of objective measurements of the state that the world’s only hyperpower is in as he assumes office, which can be measured against the state that it is in when he departs office exactly four years from today.
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