Vietnam’s leaders congratulated Donald Trump on his inauguration, emphasizing their belief in the continued development of bilateral relations.

Overall, Trump’s second-term foreign policy, defense, and economic appointments suggest that security issues will dominate in Asia, despite his grumbling about trade imbalances. In addition, they suggest that his second administration will be even tougher toward China than his first, or than the Biden administration.

The Vietnamese dong is likely to test new lows as the country’s growing trade surplus with the US puts it at risk of targeted tariffs from the incoming Donald Trump administration.

Osamu Inoue, president of Sumitomo Electric, which makes parts for Volkswagen, Toyota and Stellantis, among others, said Trump’s threatened 25 per cent tariffs on Mexican goods would do more harm to US suppliers, which account for almost a third of car parts investment in Mexico.

Military service has not done much if anything for Democrats—Clinton won the nomination against two primary opponents, Bob Kerrey and Doug Wilder, with heroic war records. And then he won the presidency against George H.W. Bush, who enlisted at 18 and survived two close calls in World War II.

The Trump family business has agreed to a voluntary ethics agreement that would ban it from striking direct deals with foreign governments after inauguration, but would give it a free hand to pursue ventures with private foreign companies.

Vietnam is ramping up its imports from the US, spending billions on critical goods like Boeing aircraft and high-tech machinery, as it aims to balance trade and strengthen strategic ties.

Let’s hope his macho bluster against friendly countries in the hemisphere or adversaries further abroad is just to get some sort of negotiating advantage, because even limited military actions

The president may not have approved of Mariann Edgar Budde’s homily at the National Cathedral. But the bishop answered to a higher moral calling.

She has published academic research about madman theory in Security Studies and the British Journal of Political Science and is writing on a book about the topic. Even though they have already witnessed four years of a Donald Trump presidency,

The worry, of course, is that Donald Trump — who took his oath as the US’ 47th president last Tuesday — would increase tariffs on various countries and that (ostensibly) includes the Philippines. China,