DONALD TRUMP’S presidency is all about the aggressive assertion of US imperialist power. This may strike some readers as a statement of the obvious.

However, the truth is obscured, at least for some on the left, by the Trump administration’s insistent demands for a ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and by his apparent strong-arming of the Israeli government into halting, however partially and temporarily, its all-out onslaught on Gaza.

It is argued, with some justice, that the Biden presidency is most unlikely to have done either – it was relentless in its unconditional support for Israel and its drive to keep the Ukraine conflict going.

But the idea of Trump as a peace-maker – continually pushed by the president himself in his brazen desire to secure a Nobel prize for his efforts – mistakes his motivations and intentions.

In relation to Ukraine, his first move was to impose on Zelensky’s government a humiliating economic deal giving Washington control of much of the country’s economic resources, transforming an already hegemonic relationship into something approaching neo-colonialism.

An end to the hostilities is a prerequisite for the profitable exploitation of Ukraine’s abundant wealth, and for agreements with Putin’s oligarchy. Thus Trump pivots from trying to impose a ceasefire via pressure on Kiev to making belligerent threats against Russia. 

None of this addresses the roots of the conflict, nor lays a basis for a durable peace. And indeed Trump continues to offer Ukraine practical support – often via European powers, including Britain – without which it could not sustain the conflict much longer.

The same factors apply in relation to Gaza, based on the same principle – follow the money. Trump’s main interests is in strengthening ties with the Gulf dictatorships, with their immense wealth.

The tipping point in relation to Israel appears to have been Netanyahu’s actions in directly attacking Qatar, for which the president forced the Israeli premier to apologise. It was indeed an act of reckless stupidity — consistent with his overall conduct — for Netanyahu to bomb a country which is not only host to a vast US military base but had even gifted Trump a four-hundred-million-dollar aeroplane.

Trump’s family and business associates are deeply invested in the region and, again, only an abatement of hostilities in Palestine can allow them to expand deals with the Gulf regimes and perhaps their fantasies of remaking Gaza itself.

Beyond those two major issues, the thrust of the administration’s strategy is abundantly clear. It is massing for war against Venezuela, and is already regularly illegally attacking vessels in the Caribbean.

It is sabotaging any international efforts to confront climate change, bullying and threatening states to abort a global shipping pact to cut carbon omissions. This all in the interests of the US fossil fuel monopolies.

Its trade and tariff demands aim to bludgeon countries around the world into transferring wealth and resources to the US. Many have been forced to capitulate, with the most notable exception of China.

It is moving to strengthen the role of the dollar internationally and obstruct any moves by states to transact business in other currencies. This, as much as the Pentagon, is an instrument of US coercion worldwide, allowing it to export its sanctions and other measures to other states.

And that is before one gets on to the direct attack on Iran, the direct threats to the sovereignty of Canada, Panama, Denmark and others and the rebranding of the US Department of Defence as the Department of War.

All in all, seldom has US imperialism been so brazen and multifaceted in its aggression. Labour must dissociate Britain from this dangerous administration.