Most foreign policy experts would agree that Trump’s move to ban people from certain countries or his recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital is a diplomatic blunder. The past presidents feel it will cause unrest in the middle east nations, disagreements with partner nations and above all might back fire the global fight against terrorism. I might be giving President Trump a lot of credit here but I think it is a master stroke for his divisive agenda. ‘Divide and Rule’ is an age old political trick and Donald Trump seems to be a master at that. For the hypersensitive left or the cunning right, it might be hard to believe but he has perfected the art of divisiveness and delivering it to the right persona. I feel Trump’s moves are baits and people are falling for it. Here is my take on these specific policies.
Putting oneself in President Donald Trump’s shoes is not easy, but let’s try it for a brief while. If I were Donald Trump, what keeps me going is unabated adulation and power. Let us not start judging those attributes for now. If that is what I want, then I have to find ways to achieve that. Surprisingly, for anyone who understands politics the means to get there are not mutually exclusive. Donald Trump’s base is an evangelical group which will support him irrespective of anything. They would have voted for Ted Cruz, Jeb Bush or even Mike Pence as long as they are evangelical. These people will continue to praise the Republican in power. The other set of Trump voters are the people from the so called ‘Rust Belt’ states in the US who are frustrated with the establishment. They are not extremely evangelical but are anxious of their future. If Trump can continue to show them way the reasons to be anxious, he will stay in power. The above policies are baits driven by these motivations.
The travel ban or popularly known as Muslim Ban has no mention of religion in it. It was cleverly crafted to do exactly that, but Trump appealed to the fear in his base by calling it a Muslim Ban during his campaign and actually while signing it. The Ban has no direct effect on Trump as an individual but it will feed on his base and he will propel himself with that energy. Trump would have an Indian Ban, Buddhist ban or an Italian Ban if it could easily cause the same effect. It was a bait. He wanted people to react and anger his base. This bait however hasn’t caused the intended damage. Now look at it in conjunction with the Jerusalem announcement.
Making Jerusalem the capital of Israel has no direct impact to the welfare of Americans. Why should it matter to a person whose campaign was to concentrate on the US and not bother about other sovereign nations. Firstly, The announcement elated the born again Christians who want Jews to control Jerusalem for the second coming of Jesus. But that will not bring Trump back to power. Trump definitely knows the fundamentalist Islamist groups will not be happy with it. Their demonstrations are not going to be peaceful. They will definitely attack civilians. Neither Trump nor his family will be directly affected by any such attacks. When such attacks happen, it drives emotional reactions in people. He will be looked at as a saviour with his Travel Ban. It will also eliminate any sane voice who want to investigate this issue as un-American. This will propel Trump back to victory. Just cast your memory on the key aspect which won Bush the 2006 elections. As Bush fell in the polls, Osama Bin Laden issued a statement threatening Bush. It triggered a wave of anger. People got together to reflect George Bush. President Donald Trump is doing exactly that. He is not appealing to your intellect but to your anxiety and fear.
It is extremely easy to dismiss Trump as a man-child or a narcissist but to call him an idiot is plain inaccurate. Having had my share of experiences with people with NPD, I believe these people are way too smart but dangerous as they are self obsessed. Trump’s detractors will downplay his capabilities at their own peril.
Two possible scenarios
Now, what do I hope happens. I really hope the world deals with through intellectual discourse and peaceful demonstrations. Attack Trump where it hurts him the most. That is not American people or American flag but his ego. Do it in a peaceful way and do it worldwide. Don’t underestimate your enemy’s capability. If nations want to take this up, do it is a civil way through diplomatic ties and the United Nations. It is an era for having debates, war of ideas and not military conflicts.
All said and done, what do I see is most likely to happen. We have to brace yourself as there will be violent demonstrations as the right wing lunatic will react irrespective. Peace is not in their DNA. They will make life miserable for civilians on all sides. They will eliminate sympathy for people who actually are affected by Trump’s schemes. The terrorists need Trump’s policies as they are the base of the Islam right wing. We are going to see more justification of divisive policies. The left are going to react to any violence blaming Trump and not condoning the religious philosophies behind the attack. This will irritate everyone and propel Trump’s ratings.
Demystifying a skeptic's world 