Trump sends mixed signals

A seemingly mellower Donald Trump may not have impressed his Democratic opponents even if he seemed contrite enough in parts of his longish State of the Union address. Seeking an end to the politics of “revenge, resistance and retribution,” the US President sounded almost like an Indian politician speaking at a time of grave partisanship. A divided US Congress may have not have been convinced by these transient moments of courtesy from the usually combative Republican President, but a chastened Mr Trump trying to win back support at home after several initiatives abroad in Afghanistan and Syria to withdraw American troops appears a good sign for the world. Of course, in trademark Trump style, he bellowed stern warnings over the Democratic-inspired probes into his administration, tax returns, and alleged Russian links facilitating his election two years ago.

A softer Mr Trump may have tried to be convincing in a bipartisan appeal, but it didn’t seem to win over his new pet hate person — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was looking over his shoulder as he spelt out his national agenda. The sigh of relief that may have to do with his possible climbdown over the $5 billion smart structure in his Mexican Wall may, however, be shortlived as declaring an “emergency” to find funding may not be far away. While that is more of a domestic American concern, the project is emblematic of a xenophobic hate of immigration not universally popular in an US where the Democrats now control the House, while Republicans just about control the Senate. The trouble is Mr Trump may soon lose even the few friends he may have won with some humility in his address due to his tweeted barbs and racially-charged rhetoric.