US President Donald Trump’s speeches and sleuth of executive orders on his first day in office should send alarm bells across the world – especially for close allies like Australia, warns University of the Sunshine Coast international relations expert Dr Shannon Brincat.
Meanwhile, UniSC Associate Professor in Communications Gail Crimmins disputes the President’s controversial assertion that there are only two genders.
Read their expert commentary below.
Associate Professor Gail Crimmins – “Trump’s stance perpetuates discrimination and harm”
President Trump’s assertion that there are only two genders is scientifically inaccurate and disregards the complexity of human biology and identity.
Research demonstrates that gender exists on a spectrum, not a binary. For instance, intersex individuals are born with traits that challenge simplistic binary notions of sex (Fausto-Sterling, 2000).
Additionally, gender identity is distinct from biological sex, with an increasing number of people identifying beyond the binary.
A 2022 Pew Research survey found that 5% of young adults in the United States identify as transgender or nonbinary, and the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated that 262,000 people identify as nonbinary or another gender. This reflects growing awareness, reduced stigma, and institutional recognition of diverse identities.
Trump’s reductive stance that there are only two genders perpetuates discrimination and marginalisation, causing harm to gender-diverse individuals. Gender discrimination contributes to higher rates of depression, anxiety, and suicide among transgender and nonbinary people. It also reinforces systemic inequalities by limiting access to healthcare, education, and employment.
To combat these harms, allies of the LGBTQI+ community can advocate for inclusive policies, support organisations promoting gender diversity, and amplify the voices of affected individuals.
Solidarity and education are essential to uphold equality and human rights."
Dr Shannon Brincat – “Ushering in the decline of international order”
US President Donald Trump’s speeches at his inauguration and his sleuth of executive orders on his first day in office should be sending alarm bells across the world – especially for close allies like Australia.
Elon Musk’s seemingly Nazi salute during celebrations to mark Donald Trump’s second inauguration is a microcosm into what we can fear of what looks to be a highly volatile four-year term.
The openly imperial ambitions of taking the Panama Canal and Greenland will increase global tensions, whilst withdrawing from key multilateral institutions like the WHO and the Paris Agreement will usher in a further decline, if not the end of liberal international order,” he said.
On top of this, there has also been mandated a 90-day pause in United States foreign development assistance for ‘assessment of programmatic efficiencies and consistency with United States foreign policy’. This will have a dramatic and immediate impact on many developing states.
The Executive orders now permit drilling in Alaska, have defunded the EPA further, and seek to deregulate environmental protections in the name of addressing the energy crisis, wrongly attributed as the cause of inflation.
The review of wind projects and the defunding of other clean energy subsidies are part of this push to centralise the interests of the oil lobby. Rather than ‘draining the swamp’, Trump appears to be willing to pollute it.
In addition, the executive orders are also focused on internal authoritarianism such as increasing powers for capital punishment, denying Birthright Citizenship for children of illegal immigrants (which will likely face legal challenges due to its constitutional implications), and halting "radical political theories" in the military. This effectively revokes policies related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and the service of transgender individuals.
The use of the phrase ‘manifest destiny’ in Trump’s speeches is also important – it brings with it entire colonial history of American exceptionalism but also its use of force. The promise to plant the American flag in Mars recalls America’s heyday of the space race – carefully crafting nostalgia, power, and authoritarianism to mark this presidency.
However, his key promises of bringing manufacturing/industrialisation back in the US is the key economic question. Trump claims he will be able to bring industry back to the US – but this will be almost impossible given the state of de-industrialisation the US has pursued for decades, and, because of the costs of labour and its lack of skilled labour in key areas.
This tension has already been seen in the debate on H1-B Visas. The inability to meet this promise is likely to cause greater dissatisfaction amongst his MAGA base which Trump may likely try to deflect with culture wars and/or attacks on minorities, with nationalistic grandstanding and imperial ambitions abroad.
A recent poll in the NY Times showed a worrying consensus amongst Democrats, Republicans and non-aligned citizens that the system was broken – only 10% on all sides agreed it was not broken. This crisis of legitimacy will not only effect American democracy but the democratic project globally.
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