In a special episode of Left, Right & Center broadcast live from the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, American journalist Ben Smith discusses a range of issues ranging from US President Donald Trump’s move to ‘save’ TikTok in the US. War in Ukraine and Gaza.
The world’s attention is on what’s happening in America, and particularly Mr Trump’s public relations victory over ‘defunding’ TikTok as one of his first major decisions, Mr Smith said the Democrat And Republicans both believe TikTok is a national one. threat to safety, but failed to see that banning it would be an unpopular move.
“American politicians from both parties believe that it (TikTok) is a national security threat, and passed a law that people didn’t pay that much attention to, to take it down, and now they realize that It’s an incredibly unpopular thing to do. “Politicians don’t like to do unpopular things,” Mr Smith, co-founder and editor-in-chief of the news website Semaphore, told NDTV.
“Trump decided that saving TikTok would be more popular, and so he has in some sense saved it, taken credit for it, in an instant, created a very good situation for himself, where this app that millions of Americans love A little thing comes up that says, ‘Thank you for saving us, President Trump.’ Has been banned,” Mr. Smith Said.
He said the Chinese government would “one way or another” not care about a ban on TikTok in the US.
“If the US wants to ban this and look crazy, go ahead and do that and create a lot of domestic conflict – that’s from the Chinese perspective,” Mr Smith said.
on ukraine and gaza
On Mr Trump’s possible action to end the Russia-Ukraine war, Mr Smith said the new US president may feel “confident of his will” after successfully enforcing a ceasefire in Gaza, “but it (Ukraine ) ) is a very different situation.”
“He (Mr. Trump) was able to force a ceasefire in Gaza, and I think he clearly believes that his will power, his political momentum can really bring people to the table. But it’s a very It’s a different situation where the Russians think they’re winning, and I think the Europeans, the United States, the Ukrainians are now eager to reach a peace deal, and this is a difficult negotiating situation, the Trump administration is looking for an immediate solution. is lowering expectations,” Mr Smith said Said.
He cautioned against viewing Mr Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin as leaders who can work together.
“No, there’s a long history of American presidents that, beginning with George W. Bush, imagined they had the capital that Vladimir Putin has, and then found that they didn’t. I think Trump’s style is much more I think to de-escalate tensions, unless the Russians come to the table, they will probably threaten American presence, more arms shipments, more support for the Ukrainians.’ ‘
mass deportation
In Trump 1.0, building a wall on the US-Mexico border and deporting undocumented immigrants took center stage. Many leaders and analysts have predicted similar policies in Trump 2.0.
Mr Smith said the US President was issuing executive orders that would give him more leeway to militarize the border to deny asylum claims.
“But the reality is that the situation on the ground has changed dramatically in the last year. (Joe) Biden, reacting late to popular opinion, has actually reduced border crossings a lot. The Mexican government has also reduced border crossings. “And I think Trump is likely to do some very dramatic things, possibly in Chicago, where he’s going to do some raids, arrest some illegal immigrants with outstanding deportation orders,” Mr. Smith Said. “Well, this is something the US government has been doing routinely for decades.”
He said there would be TV cameras, “creating a real show for us.”
Mr Smith said, “Much of the immigration issue is about messaging and communication. Signaling that people are not welcome means some people won’t come, it means some people who have a choice go elsewhere. Will go.”
The five-day meeting, which began today in Davos, is exploring ways to restart growth, harness new technologies and strengthen social and economic resilience, according to the World Economic Forum. Nearly 3,000 leaders from more than 130 countries are participating in the global meeting, including 350 government leaders.
India’s participation in Davos aims to strengthen partnerships, attract investments and position the country as a global leader in sustainable development and technological innovation. India sent five Union Ministers, three Chief Ministers and ministers from several other states to the WEF this time.
