Will Trump return to the White House?

Last week, the 45th US President Donald Trump won the New Hampshire Republican Primary, marking a major feat in terms of securing the nomination of the Republican Party for the forthcoming US Presidential Election. The victory in New Hampshire comes on the back of his success at the Iowa caucuses two weeks earlier.

The prospect of Trump returning to the White House next January would definitely evoke feelings of anguish and distress among Liberals and the establishment not only in the States, but across the globe. Trump’s views and persona unsettle many, and he is considered as eccentric unlike the traditional American Presidents. The real estate business magnate from Manhattan is the only US President to have lost the re-election bid while holding office after George Bush Senior in 1992.

The US Presidential Election in November 2020 was held when America was reeling from the devastating COVID-19 pandemic like every other nation in the world. The Republican frontrunner was accused of severe lack of empathy and concern towards the victims and patients when the fatal disease was causing havoc among Americans. An investigation by the US Congress in 2021 determined that the Trump administration engaged in deliberate efforts to undermine the US response to the coronavirus pandemic for political purposes. Critics slammed the Ex-President for giving priority towards financial benefits by trying to open up the economy too soon without paying attention to the adverse impact such an irresponsible action could cause on citizens’ health. 

Curiously though, certain opinion polls show Trump having a nationwide lead over President Joe Biden. This is despite him facing four criminal indictments, with the trials of some of them expected to begin next March and May. A month ago, Biden’s approval rating was just 38%, with a large number of voters remaining dissatisfied over his handling of the economy in addition to feeling that his administration is providing too much military aid to Ukraine and Israel. 

Trump may be viewed with consternation by Ivy League graduates, academics, liberals, coastal elites, and the mainstream media in the US, but the controversial Republican presidential candidate has a passionate followership among the White blue-collar workers. Some Conservative commentators hold him in high regard for reducing taxes, renewing domestic energy production apart from overhauling trade deals to safeguard the interest of the US in his first term. Although past Republican presidents as well as most of the politicians of the Republican Party have stood in favour of free trade, the former reality TV show host is an advocate of protectionism and his “America First” slogan appeals to the workers in the US manufacturing sector who feel threatened by competition from enterprises based in countries like Mexico and China. 

For those who fight for the cause of Palestine, the septuagenarian regaining presidency could severely dent their hopes. The highly respected US political analyst Bill Schneider during Trump’s first term, described the former President as the most pro-Israel American president since Harry Truman. When Trump was President, many policy moves were made by his administration in favour of Israel’s interest, including moving the US Embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and withdrawing Washington from the multination Iran nuclear deal.

Fire and Fury – a New York Times bestseller book which was published in 2018 – by Michael Wolff, a noted American journalist, revealed that Trump’s advisors in the White House described him as “like a child.” Be that as it may, Universal Adult Franchise produces interesting outcomes. The empirical evidence from the past confirms that the most capable and brightest one does not get the top job through the ballot in certain instances, leading certain frustrated individuals to declare – “The Masses are Asses”. The decision of voters may appear to be weird sometimes; however, that is democracy.