Is Trump really that bad?

Does he really means what he says about Muslims and Mexicans? He may just turn out to be a closet liberal

Donald Trump may be the most loathed person in politics. His remarks on Muslims, Mexicans and everything not conservative American have gained him intense notoriety around the world. But what may be missing in the entire debate on Trump is whether he really means what he says? Or is it all just about the campaign slogans?

Given the background history of Trump, one should not be foolish and cast him aside for being naive. Ever since he started his election campaign, he has been mocked and taken casually, even by his own party leaders. But poll after poll has demonstrated his rise in national politics and confirmed his status as the Republican frontrunner. How Trump has got this far is no less a miracle in itself. What may sound naive and simplistic to a lot of people has hit right where it needs to in the American mindset. The general public, especially the American conservative middle class, doesn’t want to hear the technicalities and semantics of health, security and foreign policies. It wants to understand in layman’s terms from a confident man that he will ‘fix’ America. Given the New Yorker that Trump is, there is no shortage of confidence, hence his rising poll figures are no mystery.

It’s not all confidence, though. If we were to take a step back from the usual narrative on Trump and put on a different lens, he might appear to be the most suitable candidate to change America where it needs it most, i.e., the American conservative class. For one, it’s obvious, if not to anyone else, then to the Republican Party leaders that Trump is really not a serious conservative. His remarks on immigration, Muslims and numerous other issues are nothing more than mere campaign slogans based not on his own ideological inclinations but on the mood of the people associated with his party. What Trump’s campaign has successfully demonstrated and revealed is the deep, unresolved issues of the American conservatives on important matters of migration, Islam, terrorism and climate change. Riding on the wave of conservative sentiment, Trump, an outsider and potentially a closet liberal, is in the best position to change American conservatives and the Republican Party from within and forever. His potential election as president may just represent a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that could ensure long-term structural changes within the psyche and sentiments of that segment of American society that is yet to step into the 21^st century.

There are fears around the world regarding what sort of president Trump might be. Will he be a naive one who understands nothing about local issues or about foreign and security policies? Speaking from a completely neutral point of view of someone coming from Pakistan, I believe that such criticism against him is unlikely to affect his election campaign and is of little value when we talk about the running of the state. Trump is an entrepreneur, a seasoned businessman who has proven himself repeatedly. He may not have held public office or understood anything about security or foreign policies, but who does? Given that the ‘experts’ on foreign policy with years of experience behind them, both in the Obama and Bush administrations, made a total mess of the Middle East and AfPak really makes one wonder how bad a non-expert could be — and if there is even a thing called an ‘expert’ anymore?

Trump is blunt about his lack of understanding of issues. His skill is in developing teams that can deliver on goals. And that is how he responds when asked technical questions — that his responsibility is to ‘hire the right people to do the right job’ and not run everything himself. To think of it, that doesn’t sound all that absurd. After all, a good president or a prime minister is really a good manager, who can organise a team that can deliver. Whether or not Trump understands the linkages between al Nusra and al Fatah in Syria is not that important.

While America is all set for historic elections, there is a need to understand all the candidates beyond all the noise and campaign slogans. The race, as it appears so far, is likely to be between a liberal candidate and a closet liberal. America will win in either case.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 15^th,  2016.

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