Given the popular appeal for flamboyancy, craze for cheap entertainment and making of heroes out of hollow personalities, Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election cannot be considered a surprise. His return to power has earned America a dubious record any nation is unlikely to be proud of. For the first time in US history a convicted felon, as a segment of the media criticises, has been voted to the White House. Influential Republican senators and representatives of the lower house openly opposed his candidacy and even went so far as to call him unfit for presidency.
A few called him a lunatic and declared they would vote for Kamala Harris. Former presidents and their consorts, celebrities of the entertainment world including Taylor Swift and iconic personalities of different fields declared their unreserved support with some of them even taking the podiums at different campaign venues to express their backing. Trump had no such luck except the unswerving backing, including distribution of a sizeable amount of money among voters in the swing states, from Elon Musk. It is quite clear that Trump forged ahead in the presidential race by virtue of his clinching those key states.
The man who instigated the storming of the Capitol Hill four years ago after his defeat to Joe Biden should have been usurped of his right to field candidacy for his role in that unprecedented attack on the House of Representatives and the Senate office---in effect the symbol of democracy. That criminal act would have been enough, let alone the conviction in court for felony, for barring him from any future election. America's ethical standpoint has seriously been compromised and still the man came out in flying colours.
How? One of the decisive factors is the rural votes Trump garnered. He visited the rural areas of the swing states several times to woo non-urban voters who were won over by Trump's promises to get rid of economic issues facing them such as the high costs of gas and grocery. As high as 63 per cent rural voters voted for him against 37 for Harris. Intriguingly, 64 per cent Latino men voted for him whereas approximately 35 per cent voted for Kamala. This is notwithstanding Trump's declaration of driving illegal immigrants out of the US.
Thus the magic did work to make the miracle possible? It cannot be said that his revival is by default. Under Joe Biden US economy did not perform very badly, certainly not worse than during Trump's tenure. There was record employment at times. Currently, the US economy may underperform but not only did it recover well overcoming the post-pandemic shocks but also went from strength to strength for the first half of Biden's tenure. If the benefit of economic recovery has somewhat diminished by anything it is the rising inflation.
In his election campaign eight years ago, his rallying cry was "America first". This time he proposes, "We can't live like this". In effect Trump harps on the same tune that the Americans deserve better". Whether he will be able to live up to his lofty promise to the Americans only time will tell. But the world can be a better place to live in if he does what he says he will do. He must be congratulated for his victory, if not for anything else, at least for the possibility of de-escalation of the Cold War-era tension that has returned of late. The way the US and its allies in the West were pushing for spheres of military influence, only brought their opponents closer for further collaboration in defence and to a military confrontation apprehensibly on a global scale. These allies now have to keep their fingers crossed.
The US foreign policy in the Middle East with its uncanny indulgence to Israel has already made countries in the region, which did not see eye to eye, come forward to mend the fence. Notwithstanding their many frailties, caprices and obsessions, Trump and Putin developed a vibe between them. This is why Trump could declare that had he been president, he would bring the war between Russia and Ukraine to an end within 24 years. If this happened, the wider world would not have grappled with the economic crisis of this scale. It was Biden's subtle move behind the war in Ukraine with the primary objective of killing two birds with one stone. These were to weaken Russia and also reap the economic benefit of rising global oil price while slapping embargo on sale of Russian oil. That ploy did not work entirely, although Russia had suffered a lot.
In his first term, Trump almost completed US withdrawal from deep engagement with the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). That move would have allowed the world to recover from the post pandemic adverse economic impacts. But the sudden rise in fuel oils made the matter worse for fuel-starved countries. Bangladesh was no exception. If Trump goes by the foreign policy he pursued in his first term and can help end the war in Ukraine, the world will certainly avert a cataclysmic world war and forge ahead on a better financial and commercial course.
To go by Shakespeare's famous observation that some have greatness thrown upon them, here is a chance for Trump to end the war in Europe. This leaves the world with another critical conflict in Palestine and the Middle East. Trump's stance here is not particularly encouraging but a sterling success in Ukraine may goad him to add yet another feather to his cap. He may have accomplished a stunning diplomatic success without ever aspiring for the role of a global leader.
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