Editorial

Playing the trump cards

The possibility now has to be admitted that Donald Trump could be the next president of the United States

Editorial March 02, 2016

Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a campaign town hall meeting in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina February 15, 2016. PHOTO: REUTERS

The unthinkable unfolded before the eyes of the Republican Party panjandrums as the results of the Super Tuesday polls came in. For some, the results will be the sum of all fears. Donald Trump, iconoclast and showman, a man with multiple bankruptcies behind him to say nothing of several wives, was by a very long way the popular choice for the nominee as presidential candidate in the American general election to be held on November 8. Trump won seven of the 11 states he stood in and reduced his opposition, senators Rubio and Cruz, to little more than a footnote in the democratic process. Hillary Clinton, the lead Democrat potential nominee won seven states also, leaving her only viable opponent Bernie Sanders panting in her wake and with little realistic chance of denting her lead in any future run-off. It will be for the respective Conventions to make the final selections but Super Tuesday has cast the die.

The possibility now has to be admitted, however grudgingly, that Donald Trump could be the next president of the United States. He could just conceivably beat Hillary Clinton in a straight fight, and after that the world will go into Terra Incognita. The major players will already be gaming a Trump win and what it might mean geopolitically, because it would impact, to a greater or lesser degree, every country in the world, including Pakistan. As observed recently by a commentator, in economic terms the impact would be small. The US is not our major trading partner. But Pakistani graduates from American colleges may find it harder to get jobs there as the circle of protectionism tightens. The military relationship may get an uptick at the expense of civil aid, a position little different to that between other Republican governments and Pakistan historically. Where the plot may thicken is in what happens to the relationship between America and states contiguous with Pakistan, China in particular. The bullet may yet be dodged, but once impossibly distant impossibles are suddenly in sharper focus. It will be Clinton or Trump. Ordinary Americans will choose.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 3^rd, 2016.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.

COMMENTS (1)

curious2 | 8 years ago | Reply As observed recently by a commentator, in economic terms the impact would be small. The US is not our major trading partner . I beg to differ - last time I looked USA was your largest export partner and exports (not imports) are what brings in hard currency. Also - most of the remaining high value exports go to Countries what would likely avoid Pakistan products if the USA asked them. Further - USA support is what enables IMF funding and one might argue that the President of the USA could collapse the economy of Pakistan with a phone call. So yes - the next President is a BIG DEAL to Pakistan.

Replying to X