Trump: Inventor of the ‘Political Jazz Waltz’ Culture

Published on 10, February, 2025

As Donald Trump reclaims the White House, wasting no time in making waves with bold decisions, Dr Derek Watson, Associate Professor in Cultural Management at the University of Sunderland, discusses what the Trump presidency could mean for other world leaders.

"'Trump Season Two' should not come as a surprise to political leaders and the world press, as his message was clear and present, in stating that he would sign a flurry of executive orders when he returned to the White House. So why are global leaders leaning against the ropes, wide-eyed and mouths gaping, at what they are witnessing at what can be best described as Trump leading an unscripted political dance with world leaders eager to keep up but rhythmically out of step in a so called ‘Political Jazz Waltz’?

Love or admonish him, the reality is, unlike many political leaders, Trump, does not over promise and under deliver. Within hours of his inauguration, Trump symbolically signed executive orders discarding pens to applauding Trumpians unlike his predecessors who were measured on the number of new executive orders signed over a 100-day period. For instance, Biden signed off 40, Obama 19, Clinton 13 and Bush 11. In stark contrast, by day ten, Trump has signed no less that 56 new executive orders than any recent President, covering key contentious areas from ‘Foreign Affairs to Culture’, such as Tiktok Protectionism, Gender Ideology, Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth and Ending Radical and Wasteful Government Dei Programmes, etc.

Trump’s leadership has remained unchanged over his lifetime. It is very much self-built around the ‘Trump Ego Brand’ and give credit, Trump is the only US President to be publicly charged and indicted four times, one charge has resulted in a conviction for doctoring business records to obscure so called ‘Hush Money’, the remaining three are still pending. Both the conviction and pending indictments had a negligible impingement in discouraging voters and thwarting his second term ambitions.

>

Advocates of Trump-centric leadership have resulted in Trump praising political leaders such as Ukraine’s Zelenskiy, India’s Modi, Israel’s Netanyahu and Russia’s Putin. Those who legitimately broach Trump's mandates are openly chastised such as Brazil’s Lula da Silva, China’s Xi, Germany’s Scholz, Japan’s Ishiba and in part UK’s Starmer.  Trump's insensitive approach in wanting to absorb Canada as a 51^st US state, taking control of the Panama Canal, Gaza, Greenland, renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, have created a culture of apprehension amongst world leaders. Those who have challenged Trump’s implied global manoeuvring in counter measures such as tariffs, have been quickly rescinded, such as Columbia’s threat not to accept deportees via military planes. However, the introduction of a 25% tariff on all US imported steel and aluminium will heighten tensions of a Trump induced global trade war.

The conundrum is how to manage Trump to ensure political leaders work within the rhythm of Trump's 'Political Jazz Waltz'.  Below are a suggested four steps approach;

1. Avoid Bended Knee

Engaging humbly will gain little traction with Trump as he respects strength of character. The challenge is that fine balance between seasoned confidence whilst ensuring Trump feels that he still owns the limelight.

2. Team Dynamic is Critical

It may be an idealism, but to proactively manage Trump’s approach to global politics, it is critical that G7 leaders and yes the world press, don’t act as a group with a clear hierarchy of power and counter culture but one of a team working together on incremental wins for the common good.

3. Lovebombing

Trump-centric leadership style craves for deference and adopts a transactional approach.  So, tender to his needs and deploy a brinkmanship with a clear focus on a win-win approach without compromising strength of character and unity.

4. Reading the Room

In Trump's world there are no longer house rules and Trump’s unhinged approach to negotiation is often void of State Department advice. Negotiators are well advised to suspend their intuition and lead with a ‘Givers Get’ strategy as a catalyst in forging a proactive and reciprocal working relationship."