Win or Lose, How is This Man Even in The Running for US President?

NEW DELHI: The ‘greatest’ democracy in the world is in the throes of electoral convulsions with the polls still not being able to predict a clear win for either of the two main candidates Hillary Clinton, and Donald Trump. Americans themselves admit that they have been left with candidates either of whom would have lost heavily, had the opposing candidate be any other and as an American professor said with a wry grin, “even a person off the street.”

Even at the time writing this, the media is still guessing with channels like CNN clearly keeping all toes crossed in favour of Democrat Clinton giving her, almost desperately, a slight edge over her rival.

But win or lose, the question that the Republican Party will have to answer is how did it saddle the US with a candidate like Donald Trump. And what the US will have to answer to the world watching this election almost with bated breath: how did we allow Trump to reach the last lap of the great race?

Clearly the politics pursued by the US since 9/11 has generously contributed to the rise of a Trump, or “a Donald” as President Barack Obama so disparagingly speaks of him. The creation of the ‘other’ through a systematic propaganda campaign within the ‘Homeland’ and the wars without have generated a fear psychosis in the largely white vulnerable population, that has been racist in the past and is specifically anti-immigrant and Islamophobic now.



In a campaign addressing this population, aggressive and noisy in its choice, Trump has fed into the divisiveness by unleashing a virtual hate campaign against the targeted groups. Taking more than a leaf out of right wing books---in fact taking the entire book and furiously adding chapters to it---Trump has been able to assuage the anger and frustration of these susceptible voters with hard talk, threatening promises interspersed with jibes and barbs. He has assured the voters that far from being under, they will under his rule call the shots, and that his policies will be directed at one, cleansing the US of all those who are stealing the white man’s jobs and economcy; and two, of ensuring that those to whom America ‘belongs’ are heard. As a US commentator pointed out some time during the course of the campaign the phrase ‘native American’ used by Trump really belonged to the Indians who were wiped out at the onset by the new settlers.

Trump has been on a sustained, unabted, unabashed campaign based on ignorance, and hate. Sample” “Islamic terrorism is eating up large portions of the Middle East, they have become rich, i am in competition with them, they have built a hotel in Syria can you believe it, they have built a hotel

“When Mexico sends its people they are not sending their best…..they are bringing drugs, they are bringing crime, they are rapists..”



A section of the Indians seem to be routing for Trump. The Republican Hindu Coalition, a fairly new group, with one Shalabh Kumar as its founder has been actively campaigning for Trump having donated generously to his election fund as well. (see: www.thecitizen.in/Donald-Trump) Trump was invited by the organisation just last month for its meet on Humanity Against Terror, in keeping with shared Islamaphobia. A little known right wing group in India has been performing havanas for a Trump victory.

This little video seems to have escaped the Indian supporters attention, although it was covered fairly widely in the US press at the time. Here Trump takes a position on call centres in India, and mimics the Indian accent in what has not been perceived by the US press as a very flattering reference to India.



Hillary Clinton has a point when she wonders about the Republican candidate’s choice of words, and warns the voters about electing a divisive person to office. Barack Obama has thrown all caution to the winds to campaign against Trump, along with his wife Michelle. The Clinton campaign has used high power gunpowder against him, celebrity studded, but despite this Trump continues to be more than in the race with Americans unable to predict a clear cut victory for either of the two candidates.

If he loses he will of course have destroyed the Republican party, and allowed seeds of distrust and hate to grow into wilful saplings. But this damage fades into the insignificant when compared to the prospect of a Donald victory.