A large number of sceptics have been wondering whether Donald Trump, the 45th President of the United States, would be able to meet the challenges the world’s topmost superpower faces. His conspicuous absence of experience in government and his pronounced arrogance are among various reasons cited as impediments in his path to success. However, it is not fair to either judge him prematurely or be pessimistic about his tenure.
Trump has been duly elected by the people of his country through a legitimate and acceptable electoral process and he thus certainly deserves to be seen in a positive light. The majority of his detractors are supporters of Hillary Clinton, who lost the presidential race, though many media polls gave her the edge till the very end. These supporters not only find it difficult to accept the verdict, but are determined to make things both unpleasant and difficult for the President, who definitely gives the impression of being a demagogue.
Trump’s greatest plus point is that he may have known powerful people in the past, but he has never been a part of the influential Washington lobby. Therefore, he would view things with a fresh mind and not through the prism of power brokers in DC. The existing mindsets need to be altered in order to actually bring about a change in the political arena, both inside and outside the United States. For most Washington based politicians, Russia is considered to be the biggest enemy of their country other than the ultras in West Asia. However, the Trump administration could effectively look at more serious threats posed by an emerging China and its allies. In this context, if the US needs to counter China’s growing influence, it requires fresh allies, Russia included. This is where the country’s foreign policy could undergo a vital change.
The 45th President is not a traditional politician, so has the proclivity of blurting out his thoughts freely, without coating his intentions in diplomatic language. He, in fact, represents the real America where people like to speak out their minds, without attaching much attention to the manner of their speech. The coarse verbal approach is truly American and politicians over the past several decades have been concealing it by presenting a contrary picture to the rest of the world as well as to their own nation. Trump is not Barack Obama, whose grand eloquence and colossal vocabulary may have propelled many of his countrymen to purchase dictionaries because the average American has linguistic paucity, which is echoed by the overuse of “great, awesome, fun, super etc”.
In 1980, when Ronald Reagan defeated sitting President Jimmy Carter, doubts about his ability were raised by the Washington lobby, which considered him as a successful Governor of California, but a person with no knowledge of DC. As things turned out, Reagan is regarded as one of the finest Presidents in the post World War II era. Many also consider Richard Nixon as the most competent head of government, but his undoing followed the infamous Watergate scandal.
The Kennedy brothers were thought of as extremely charismatic, but fell to assassins’ bullets much before they could prove their mettle. In that sense, Obama has been one of the most eminent Democratic Party Presidents, though towards the end he came under a lot of fire from Trump and company, despite the fact that America’s most wanted Osama Bin Laden was traced and eliminated during his tenure.
In order to understand Trump, one needs to also comprehend the trajectory of his campaign. The vote for Trump was driven by an immensely strong anti Muslim, anti China and anti African-American feeling in the United States. He was able to galvanise support, much to the total surprise of his fellow Republicans, who at every stage attempted to sabotage his chances by reckless statements and denouncements. He survived all the onslaughts from his own party, as well as Hillary’s supporters, primarily because his campaign identified itself with the common people, as also their concerns, real or imaginary. There are many among Washington based groups that have been funded directly or indirectly by affluent sheikhs from West Asia. Trump’s ascent to the top is a major worry for them, since he is bound to review many decisions which were a result of quid pro quo between US politicians and the moneyed class of West Asia. The US economy has been stagnating and China seems to have heavily infiltrated the American market. In fact, for Christmas and Halloween, as also other festivals, the goods that have flooded the stores are generally made in China. The concept of neo colonialism, which the US practised in the past, particularly in South America and a large number of developing countries, has returned to haunt it through the influx of Chinese made goods.
Trump is not bound by any political past and is thus free to experiment and implement new ideas. He is neither a prisoner of his party, where strong lobbies have influenced past Presidents. He is his own man. A man committed to “make America Great again”. He does not carry the burden of huge expectations and therefore can carry out his policies smoothly. Trump is not a novice. He is capable of proving his adversaries wrong. He is the man for the moment. He is likely to be the new age President. Between us.