The business president

US President Coolidge stated in the 1920’s that “The business of America is business” and president Trump’s inaugural speech seems to have brought that philosophy back into the White House. While his recent actions have been brought under the microscope, there were two areas that were expected to be expressed as he became president were to make America great again and the issue of security. These expectations did not disappoint as it became very clear during his January 20 speech that the focus of the new administration is business and security. While rather populist, those two themes were at the forefront, with an anti-globalist bent dominated his historical speech as he tried to show that he was the pragmatic and practical president. While in office the Obama administration was able to get the unemployment down from 10% to 4.5%, but without real growth in wages, Trump has constantly repeated his determination to get higher paying jobs to Americans. To do this, he has promised rebuilding infrastructure, and that means a lot of spending and capacity building. This type of government spending is something that has not taken place since Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR). That also means potential opportunities for Rwanda as infrastructure construction becomes much more important as a business model, and those businesses will be looking for opportunities overseas. Trump’s infrastructure spending is something that (so far) has tended to get the necessary buy-in from the private sector, and that is a huge change from the previous administration. In an economy that is driven by credit and credit expansion, without private sector buy-in stimulus packages will simply not work: as was seen by the lack of success with the previous attempts of throwing money at the economy. In order to implement his plans, Trump is qualified due to his experience as a businessman. This is because someone who has built up a large business, such as he has, would have to be an expert in delegation. And, as such he has been hiring the best to fill jobs that he needs, and one can assume that he is very good at picking the correct people for positions as they are being filled. He is adept at quickly reading and sizing up the most competent. Much like JFK did 57 years ago, he has been putting out the call for help to the best and the brightest that America has to offer no matter where in the world they are, and they have been coming. One of the biggest criticisms for those who are joining his team is that they are wealthy successful businessmen. The team that he is choosing are extremely well off and that means that they are brilliant business leaders; for example, four members from Goldman Sachs along with Wilbur Ross. As part of the backlash, there have been calls for people who have more government experience, and those who are less wealthy and who are not too distant economically from the regular electorate. And, while he has also been actively recruiting his family, it is clear from their track records that, just as everyone else who is hired, it is because of merit rather than nepotism. The Trump team is the one that will move towards the goals, and during the speech, the future was mentioned and a vision was alluded to, though not clearly articulated. One thing that is apparent is the urgency of the process. As a businessman, he is used to be in a hurry and seems to have little sympathy for bureaucratic inertia, as someone who has been successful in the private sector would be. As a faculty member of a business administration department, the saying ‘’those that can do, and those that can’t teach’’, and while painful to repeat there is a ring of truth to this type of statement as securely salaried employees tend to work slowly. Therefore for leadership bureaucracy needs strong direction-and professional bureaucrats’ and politicians cannot be expected to grasp business as well as those who were successful in the real world. President Trump, by not being bound by the same ideological commitments as his immediate predecessors, it should be expected that he will not care about traditional restraints. Precedents are already being set with two glaring examples: the Philippines’ and Russia. As the previous administration was very antagonistic towards both, with threats of complete breaks from both, and rather rewards friends and allies. Trump has warmed to both already, showing a pragmatic and practical approach to his leadership style. He mentioned in inaugural speech that all nations have their own path to follow, and through his action he seems to look for loyalty and then reward it. These major shifts in the new administration (so far) show that Trump simply does not care about international pressures from others, including allies, and is interested in expanding business. Commerce as well as personality: the Japanese Prime Minister Abe wasted no time in visiting president elect Trump as soon as it could be arranged shortly after he was elected. There is talk of a trifecta with the Office of President Trump-(one) of the strength of the president’s office, (two) the reach of social media and (three) the unpredictability of his personality. Keep in mind, thought that there may be a systematic approach to his recent Tweets: that of directing and forcing business to follow through towards his wishes and ideas of where he wants the country to head. With Twitter as his competitive advantage, it is no surprise that he is continuing to use this tool to further his agenda. After all, historically those who were able to grasp and utilise the newest technology came out on top, from FDR and his radio chats to JFK and TV. Japanese have a term called ‘tatemae’ and that means the surface of something, just a cover, with ‘honne’ meaning the true and deeper, the real meaning. It has been suggested that the Tweeting and bluster coming from Trump is tatemae, and beneath this surface real forces of change are occurring. This would also explain the rhetoric during the campaign, but going beneath the surface (the honne), and it could be argued that real constructive change and teambuilding seems to be taking place. When it comes to commerce and business, there is plenty to be optimistic about, and as America is the largest economy in the world, the spillover effects and expanding American economy will continue to affect the entire world. With Rwanda and the EAC having economic growth rates as high as they have now and are predicted to be, the area is bound to be noticed by those who appreciate a good return on their investment. There should be plenty of chances for Rwanda to expand infrastructure and capacity building as well as exports to the United States. While there are many questions left with respect to foreign policy, when viewing commerce and trade critically things tend to look more favorably. As mentioned in a January 21 New Times editorial, we should expect nothing from America. Rather, the next step is to see how the implementation of the policies proceed and how Rwanda can deal with this new American administration. A deal on Rwanda’s own terms so that relations can be mutually beneficial for both countries. The writer is a Canadian scholar who has conducted regular visits to Rwanda and has given talks at the University of Rwanda and at the Kigali Independent University. Currently, he is an associate professor at Kobe Gakuin University in Japan.

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The business president