Observers Express Trump's Leadership Style Turning From Trade War To Nuclear Threat

JAKARTA - Economic observer from Andalas University (Unand) Syafruddin Karimi believes that Donald Trump's leadership style, which used to focus on economic pressure, has now shifted to a much more dangerous direction, namely armed conflict and nuclear threat.

"From the trade war against China to open support for the Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear facilities, Trump has proven that his foreign policy is not only a matter of transactions but a high-risk business that can burn the world," he said in a statement, Sunday, June 15.

Syafruddin explained that during his tenure as President of the United States (US), Trump rocked the global trade order by imposing high tariffs on allies and rivals, also calling the World Trade Organization a disaster, and pulling the US out of a number of multilateral deals such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Iran nuclear agreement (JCPOA).

"He treats international agreements such as business contracts: they can be canceled unilaterally, renegotiated, or destroyed if deemed detrimental. When he withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018, the world witnessed the collapse of its only peaceful mechanism to limit Iran's uranium enrichment," he said.

According to Syafruddin, Trump's maximum pressure strategy aims to create a new, more lucrative deal, but in reality Iran is continuing its nuclear program and accelerating uranium enrichment, strengthening their bargaining position in regional tensions.

Syafruddin said that now in 2025, the tough approach reached its most dangerous point, where after Israel launched a massive military offensive on Iran's nuclear facilities and killed a number of scientists and top military commanders, the world witnessed how tensions that used to be diplomatic have now turned into open military conflicts.

"Trump, which has been placing itself as a strong mediator, actually shows its partiality. Although it does not officially announce US involvement in military operations, reports state that US aircraft are helping to refuel Israeli fighter jets and activating the defense system to protect its territory from Iran's retaliatory attacks. Thus, America is no longer spectators, but participants," he stressed.

Syafruddin said whether the engagement was part of a national security doctrine, or an expanded business strategy to the military realm, but in Trump's calculations, military pressure appears to be used like an import tariff, namely as a bargaining chip.

He added that after Iran responded to the attack by launching hundreds of missiles on Israel, Trump did not condemn the initial attack that triggered escalation, but instead issued an ultimatum to Iran if it did not negotiate within 60 days of further pressure.

"This reflects a very transactional negotiation approach model: hit first, talk later. But in global reality, this is not a business table. This is human life," he explained.

Furthermore, he warned that this kind of approach had sparked a domino effect where oil prices soared by more than 6 percent, the developing country's economy was under pressure, the Middle East stock market plummeted, and the Strait of Hormuz is now at risk of being blockaded threatening global energy stability.

"States such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE are starting to strengthen alliances with China and Russia to secure supply and influence. The world is witnessing the transformation of aggressive unilateralism into potential multipolar conflict. In the midst of all of this, Trump does not offer peace or diplomacy, but a deal that is wrapped in threats," he said.

Syafruddin said that recent developments show how Trump's deal-making models have shifted from trade to weaponry, from rhetoric to explosion.

According to him, trade wars may hurt exports and create inflation, but nuclear war could destroy cities and the failure to understand these fundamental differences is a real danger of leading world affairs with real estate merchant logic.

"When the world is at the brink of a nuclear conflict triggered by pressure politics and diplomacy failures, it is important to ask: who really benefits from this business style? Because for a world tired of the pandemic, energy crisis, and inequality, what is needed is stability and recovery, not a big deal paid for with blood and destruction," he said.

He added that if Trump's business is now moving from tariff to missile, then the world must realize that we are no longer dealing with business presidents, but with dangerous negotiators who consider existential risks as part of a bargaining strategy and that is not business as usual, but a global threat.