The Trump power

If there were beliefs that Donald Trump could feel weak and powerless because of the many charges he has faced, then he has certainly proved everyone wrong. Overturning the mugshot released recently into a political campaign shows he’s still a topic of interest for people around the world.

The historic mugshot where he has reflected his personality as an angry man thinking of a revenge soon turned into a different merchandise to promote his election campaign. What is ironic yet creative for his campaign is to use the same picture of him as a protagonist who can make America great again.

He is back on Twitter/X, the platform he overused to spread hatred and misinformation to the extent that he had to be banned, posting the same mugshot with the message ‘election interference’ and ‘never surrender’. It has been viewed over 240 million times and has 1.6 million likes. It is interesting to note that his ultra-loyal fans and voters overlook all the allegations Trump has faced and instead promote him as the fearless leader who can transform America. 

The difference between most American leaders and Trump is that he lacks diplomacy, which his followers admire as being a straightforward person. And despite 91 felony charges against him, Trump has been able to use his victim card so well to convince his party and followers that they dismiss what he did on January 6, 2021.

When he was in power, he banned Muslims from certain countries from visiting the US. His relationship with the ‘rocket man’ or the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un became controversial, the decision to separate families at the US-Mexico border was widely condemned, and the revelation of paying hush money to a porn star put a question mark on his character. During the pandemic, he made it clear that he did not believe in scientists. Same is his opinion on climate change. He paved the way for white supremacy to surface and divide people. Thanks to him, the world supported the Black Lives Matter campaign that began later.

As a Nepali, I sometimes try to see if there are similarities between him and our Nepali leaders. Our current Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal once publicly took responsibility for the 5000 lives lost in the Maoist rebellion. As with powerful leaders, no action was taken against him. The transitional justice system has been mocked as the truth and reconciliation commission never gets a shape.  However, the difference between us and them is that they were able to bring the former President to a local jail where he surrendered too whereas our high-level leaders have mostly been protected.  

I also find Trump’s vocabularies to be similar with Dharan Mayor Harka Sampang’s. Both use/d indecent language to vent out on social media, and glorify their arrogance. He too is on a mission to make Dharan great again but has already faced backlash. Prohibitory orders to keep Dharan safe and calm are not a good sign of what could lie ahead in maintaining religious solidarity. He should be mindful before it’s too late.

Meanwhile, as a distant observer, I feel that Trump has sharply divided the American people. There are Americans who think the image of their country has tarnished while others think he is better than his contemporaries. As a leading Republican Party candidate, Trump definitely has challenges to face, not just with the indictments but also to be selected as the final candidate. However, the way he is trying to create his image of a fearless leader ready to take revenge has ignited curiosity to what happens next. As the largest economy of the world and a superpower, it is all but natural for the world to be interested in learning political developments in the United States. And the world is amazed to see how his popularity does not decline.