By Raffique Shah
May 18, 2016
So what if Donald Trump wins the race for presidency of the United States next November?
He won’t be the first fool to occupy the highest office in the most powerful country on earth. Nor will he be the stupidest president ever.
Bear in mind that if he does make it to the White House, and there is a high probability of this happening, it would be with the support of some 50-to-60 million American voters.
They will be mostly white, spread across the income-divide, many poor-ass trailer dwellers whose living conditions are worse than those of the refugees who have been flooding Europe, and who swear that America’s real problem is immigration, legal and illegal.
They will also include millions of middle-income Americans who believe that they are worse off than their West European counterparts who enjoy superior standards of living and retirement benefits, for which they blame not their wild consumerism and aversion to saving for their twilight years, but-who else?-immigrants.
And you’d better believe that among Trump’s scapegoat-immigrants and other minorities, there are fools who believe that by deporting or down-pressing their own or those who aspire to live the American dream, they will secure their own existence, however miserable that may be.
Looking from afar at democracy at work in the superpower-nation that imposes it on others, often by brute force, we might want to believe that American voters are at least discerning, if not sophisticated, and that every four years they will elect the most intelligent candidate who has a vision to take the country to higher heights.
If anyone suggests, as many had when Trump announced his candidacy, that a lying, ignorant, bigoted buffoon could become a contender for president, we’d laugh at them.
But it has happened before and it will happen again, only that we choose to forget history.
Ronald Reagan, who won twice (1980/1984) by landslide majorities, among other displays of gross ignorance, could not find “Granada” (Grenada) on a map even as he ordered a massive invasion of the tiny Caribbean isle, which he described as “a fine piece of real estate” back in 1983.
Trump could hardly be worse than George Bush the father (1984-1988) and George W. Bush the son (two terms, 2000-2008), who between them plunged America into two trillion-dollar wars in “Eye-raq” and Afghanistan based on outright lies.
Remember Saddam Hussain’s weapons of mass destruction? Or the Taliban’s pivotal role in the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon? No mention then of America’s close relations with Saudi Arabia and the bin Laden clan.
The Bush father and son duo dragged America into several wars-without-end, spawned more Islamist terrorists than we could count, and rendered countries across the world, from the Far-East to Africa to Europe, fair game for mindless jihadists.
Their lies fuelled the trillion-dollar “fear industry” in America most of all, whereby the techno-military-industrial-complex has and continues to make fortunes off threats of terrorism, with just about anyone who can afford it buying and installing an enormous range of protective devices, from CCTV cameras to personal drones.
Meanwhile America’s gross national debt stands at approximately 100 percent of GDP, just over $20 trillion. The income gap, which had narrowed for several decades after the second world war, has widened considerably since the year 2000. And while the economy remains fairly resilient, the prosperity that so many Americans once enjoyed is now both an illusion and elusive.
So why is Trump attractive to so many, such that he has sealed his candidacy even as Democrats Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders slug it out?
Well, for one, he personifies The Ugly American, the uncouth bully who says he will ride roughshod over all perceived obstacles to the country’s progress, its unimpeded domination of the world.
Many Americans like that image.
Such “enemies” seen through Trump’s Don Quixote lens include, first and foremost, Mexico, where he vows to build a wall along its border with the USA, which, he insists, he will have the Mexicans pay for.
Former Mexican president Vincente Fox aptly responded, live on television: “We’re not paying for that f*%$#g wall!”
In other words, it’s not going to happen, however much Trump’s stupid supporters may fantasize otherwise.
His other targets in international relations include the European Union, the strongest ally of the US, from both the military and economic standpoints.
Madness: America needs the EU more than the other way round.
He says he will compel all US manufacturing companies that have shifted their operations abroad to remain competitive to “return to base”.
Wishful thinking: they will sooner switch citizenship than sacrifice profits.
I have not touched his other outrageous utterances-on dating his daughter Ivanka or “you can never be too greedy”…
Still, 60 million Americans will likely vote this clown as President.
Should he win, I’d say they deserve him.
Shah a couple of issues rage inside of me as you truly outline the stories of this idiot called TRUMPS. I have adopted this word idiot to tone down my true raging views. Nevertheless here goes my views on Trump. Can Mr JAW now give us the true story about our FIFA World Cup match in Trinidad in 1989 where we were beaten 1-0 by USA due to a supposed staged goal by Michael Maurice, our goalkeeper on the day? For a USA win it was strongly alleged that Trump promised this country and our business well to dos that on one of five islands he would build a world class casino …this never happened. More so it is said that money does not trumps Trump. BUT MONEY DOES RUN AMERICAN POLITICS. The big bad ugly american book is ready for another money making edition. Money really talks in American politics. The KOCH brothers made it worldwide on lobbying inside America. But we must not miss out on the real story of America….BLACKS vs NON BLACKS. This is behind everything in America for centuries now and still very much so today. DOES BLACK LIVES REALLY MATTER IN AMERICA? This is real story in American politics…WILL AMERICA EVER HAVE ANOTHER BLACK PRESIDENT? EVEN THOUGH THIS ONE WAS ONLY HALF BLACK AND MORE WHITE. Yet one can see the frustration in OBAMA’s face whenever he appears on television for he cannot help but show his blackness tendencies. A black man who is now broken as his ideas, ideals, honesty, trust worthiness, YES WE CAN policies were stripped in 8 long years by WHITE AMERICA. This white America who now desperately wants to take back America from a BLACK OUT. The issue that bugs me the most, given all the many uncle toms in America is…. WHY IS WHITE AMERICA SO AFRAID OF A BLACK PRESIDENT? Perhaps they feel the black man will never fit the bill. They crave their world wide domination. If this is so we come right back to the necessity for black slavery once more. I still remember the words back in my working years…THE MORE THINGS CHANGE THE MORE THEY REMAIN THE SAME. This race bogey that we copy only too well in Trinidad will seemingly never leave us will it for we are hooked on everything that pertains in America? They said recently in our politics that Rowley was too black to be our Prime Minister and before this Manning went to Laverntile and said he was not a black man from Africa. But back to Trump….he made most of his money on the sweat of the non white world it is not funny. Now he wants to push these same non white people true a wall. And Shah I wonder if the TRUMP wall with Mexico will shutdown the cocaine/marijuana/drug world that continues to destroy my country and feed the rich in America? However, more importantly and this is my only concern about a TRUMPS Presidency ….will he push my TT$ to 12 and up to $1 USD from a 6.33. I know this is one of the factors our PNM sweet hearts will now use to push for a police state in our beloved T&T. Since the 80s they want that for us. They once said in the 70s behind closed doors, of course that the black man does not appreciate the value of money. Then Mr short idiot will rejoice in his BIG WHITE non blacks allowed BOAT. And the non performing exploiters in T&T business sector will reap gains on all of us poor people. A word of caution for those so called whites in T&T ….reading from God today says ” we must not boast…God do not like boasters”. So Mr short of a length idiot be careful as your greatest enemy is your own self.
America deserves Trump like we deserve Kamala and Rowley.
Americans are fed up of “establishment” politicians who make promises that remain undeliverable or cost billions to fulfill. Trump is the outsider who is speaking the language of the common man. He has manage to persuade sufficient people to believe in him.
Trump style is crass, blunt and confrontational an affront to establishment politics . His style has created a lot of unease amongst republicans because it is unorthodox. He says what most Americans think. The Trump brand has been around for some time so there is a level of trust in this celebrity turn politician. This has raised the ire of the guardians of the Republican party. But Trump is the dirtiest player in the game knocking off opponents with personal attacks even suggesting that they are anti American. Accusing Cruz dad of being involved in the Kennedy assassination.
A Trump Whitehouse will be different than any other. If he maintains his style and wins. One can see a divided America. For short term gain he has made long term enemies. The real challenge is can Trump the divider become Trump the unified???. And what kind of player will he be on the world stage? A lot of people are worried.
Shah should know that the EU he is talking so fondly about is far from the truth. He should know that Greece which is a member of the EU is bankrupted and is constantly asking the European Bank for support. Spain and Portual have over 25% young unemployment. Italy has a new government every year. Most of the new countries that joined the EU recently are poor with very low wages. That is the problem Britain is having at present with mass emigration from these countries which brings all the problems such as housing. health, education etc. The EU does not have an army so why should the US look for their support. It is NATO that is important for the US and the EU conutries. Economically the EU is in a bad way and should not be used as any example that the US should be envious off.
Shah should stick to local politics which I guess he knows a lot and focus on the crime wave that is being experienced by the local population. He should not let the government get away from their responsibilities. Let the American voters decide on Trump.
Shah should do his home work first because there are readers who knows the facts.