Newly elected President of the United States, Donald Trump could obtain “full powers” compared to his previous mandate. The opportunity for the future Head of State to be able to do “what he wants” for four years.
The United States is made up of 4 pillars linked to American power. It is about the presidency, the supreme court, the Senate and the House of Representatives. These four pillars are called the counter-powers. They prevent the President from being able to do what he wants during his mandate. Generally, one of the four pillars is at least majority represented by a political color different from that of the Head of State. However, for Donald Trump, it may be different since he could have “full powers”.
Will Trump leave NATO?
Besides the presidency which is obviously in the colors of the Republicans, the other pillars can be just as much. The Senate, for example, has moved to the Republican side and the House of Representatives is still at the time of counting but could also be in favor of the future President of the United States. Thus, the Supreme Court has over the nine judges who sit there, six conservatives and therefore close to the ideologies of Donald Trump.
Our colleagues from RTBF in Belgium, via the professor of philosophy of law, Benoît Frydman, take the example ofNATO. Since his previous mandate, Donald Trump has wanted to leave this military union which links him in particular with the European Union. During his previous election, he was unable to do so thanks to counter-powers, but this time things may be different. Indeed, the President and the executive negotiate treaties. However, the most crucial treaties are subject to the legislative part. This must then validate the decision. As Benoît Frydman explains in the United States, it is the senate who takes care of this. Given that Donald Trump has the majority in the Senate, then he could choose to leave NATO.
