If there was any hope that Donald Trump would change tactics
and be more restrained after winning the Republican party Presidential
nomination for the November 8 US election, that hope is now
lost. The fellow has remained aggressive, incorrigibly brash and
completely negative. Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson has asked: "Is
Donald Trump just plain crazy?" (August 1). Robinson says he is "increasingly convinced,” and that Trump’s "grasp on reality appears to be
tenuous at best."
The way he is carrying on, indeed Trump may need a mental
fitness test soon. By now, it must be clear to all and sundry, that he poses a
great risk to the United States, to democracy and the liberal world. President
Barack Obama has dismissed him as being unfit to be President, he being so
totally unprepared, he being no more than a bumbling apprentice seeking the
highest job in the United States. A man given to melodrama and expletives such
as Trump, without any respect for basic decorum and standards would make a very
bad President. He must be prevented from doing damage to the free world.
I am however, surprised that there are Nigerians who insist
that he is a better choice. I don’t think so. And don’t ask me why Nigerians
should be so divided over another country’s election. The truth is that
America’s Presidential election is a world election. There are millions of
Nigerians and Africans living in the United States and even greater numbers
hoping to visit, study or live in the United States. What happens in
America affects the rest of the world. If a Trump Presidency happens, we
are all in trouble.
What Trump stands for is anti-progress. It amounts to a
fascist, authoritarian promotion of a brand of nationalism that defeats the
objectives of inclusion and togetherness. But he says, “I’m
really a nice guy believe me, I pride myself on being a nice guy but I‘m also
passionate and determined to make our country great again” Nice guy? A
nice guy who says he wants to build a wall to barricade Mexico. This nice guy
couldn’t even stand the sight of a crying baby, interrupting his speech. He had
to ask the poor mother to take her baby out of the room. Nice guy has been busy
abusing the parents of an American soldier who died in action in Iraq. He
doesn’t even believe that African Americans and other minorities should be
allowed to vote. He says Mexicans are criminals and rapists.
This nice guy doesn’t want immigrants and Muslims in
America. He talks down on women, Hispanics and blacks. He does not even believe
that Black lives matter. He supports nuclear war because it would be
“pretty quick” and he wants Japan and South Korea to have their own nuclear
weapons. This nice guy is a fan of Muammar Gaddafi, Saddam Hussein and
Vladimir Putin. Affordable Care that allows more Americans to have access to
quality healthcare is unacceptable to him. If he becomes President he
will expel over 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States, and put an
end to birthright citizenship. Trump’s real ambition is to become an
Emperor of the United States, and by extension the world. But sorry, America’s
Constitutional traditions will not allow that. The American voter should deny
him his dream.
That moment which President Barack Obama alluded to, when he
said there must come a moment when a people must say thus far and no further
has come: with Trump, yes. Which is why it is good news that he has been dropping
in the polls, and the myth that he is unstoppable is exploding. Common sense is
beginning to prevail in America. Like all politicians in his situation, Trump
has become more aggressive and temperamental. He even says the election will be
rigged. It is so easy to complain about rigging in an election that has not yet
taken place, not so?
His supporters are even threatening that there will be
“bloodbath” and “widespread civil disobedience” if he loses the election! Wait
a moment: are there some Nigerians working for Trump, some Nigerian politicians
teaching him dirty tricks? He should wake up: if he loses the election as he
should, there will be dancing in the streets from New York to my mother’s
village. Every vote against Trump, the man who wants to turn America away from
the rest of the world, will be a vote for American progress. But his latest
desperation sends one clear message: he should not be under-estimated. His
blunt refusal to back the re-election of House Speaker Paul Ryan just shows the
kind of man he is: vengeful.
The Republican establishment wants to dump him. Forget
it. That is too late in the day and it is probably the surest way to further
damage the GOP. And how about Trump himself throwing in the towel? No way! His
campaign spokesperson, Hope Hicks has ruled this out saying, “There is no truth
to this whatsoever.” Of course, he won’t. Megalomaniacs like Trump do not quit.
He likes the limelight. He enjoys being a Presidential standard bearer.
Even when it becomes clear that he will lose, Trump would keep trudging on.
Defeat would still be a win-win for him in any case. He can subsequently milk
his Presidential campaign for big profit: a book, a movie, another reality
television show, or speaking engagements. And Trump will still push himself
into our faces on television: no doubt, he would make a good, fictional
President on television, but not in the White House. Yes, Mr. Trump, stay
in the race.
Hillary Clinton is the acceptable choice. But it is
unfortunate that the 2016 US Presidential election has been reduced to a
strictly moral choice: who sounds more humane between the two candidates? It
has also been reduced to emotions rather than the big issues: who makes us feel
safe, and which candidate makes us nervous? Trump does not inspire with any of
his incoherent ideas: what miracle can anyone expect from a Presidential
candidate who says climate change is a “hoax”, specializes in abusing people,
and believes that he needs bully tactics rather than ideas to win an important
election. He combines this with make-believe strategies. But the American
Presidency is not Trump Casino or Trump Steaks. Trump’s strongest point
is his ability to exploit the fears of an alienated middle class that feels
shortchanged by the American system.
He has accordingly, been very aggressive in labeling Hillary
Clinton as a co-architect of this system and co-author of all the fears
currently being entertained by average middle class Americans: fears
about how the power elite and the rich are alienated from the people. Fears
about spreading poverty and unemployment particularly in inner America. Fears
about the continuing rise of a rich minority that continues to dominate
American life, business and culture. Fears about the increasing influx of
immigrants who bring problems of their own and take jobs meant for white
Americans.
These fears are real and Trump, being the ultimate salesman
and xenophobe is heaping all the blames on Hillary Clinton and the class she
seemingly represents. He calls her “The Devil,” and now he says, she is “the
founder of Isis”. Trump wants to be President for the sake of it. He wants to
prove that he can be President. But he has no idea about governance and
he really does not think governance matters. Hillary Clinton can win and
should, but overwhelming international goodwill is not the thing. The
current lead in the polls in Mrs Clinton’s favour may not be enough to
discourage Trump, who is apparently far more desperate.
Offensive as his messaging process is, I repeat that he
cannot be under-estimated in any way, and Hillary Clinton must not assume that
victory is certain without the rigorous hard work that will stop Trump from
getting to the Oval Office. She needs to allay the fears of the alienated and
vulnerable Americans who actually suspect that she may be one of the many
“Devils” in America. Trump must not be allowed to use Casino tactics to become
America’s President. He is unfit.
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