Senator Mushahid Hussain optimistic about Trump's re-election in November

Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed has expressed optimism that former US president Donald Trump will be re-elected this year, citing an assassination attempt that Trump survived as a potential boost to his campaign.

He said this during the "Geopolitical Shifts in Asia: What they mean for Pakistan and Regional Stability" webinar, hosted by The Express Tribune and Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) on Tuesday.

Senator Hussain noted that Trump's previous presidency set a positive precedent for Pakistan-US relations. He recalled a 2019 phone call where Trump addressed the Kashmir issue with Pakistan's then-prime minister, suggesting that Trump could similarly resolve the Ukraine conflict, halt NATO expansion, and resume diplomacy with North Korea's Kim Jong-Un "with a phone call".

Hussain believes Trump would also progress on issues such as Kashmir and Palestine.

This isn't the first time the senator has predicted Trump's victory; earlier this month, he claimed Trump would win the 2024 election on November 5, citing an assassination attempt that Trump survived as a potential boost to his campaign.

Also read: Mushahid sees post-WWII political order unravelling

"I believe today Donald Trump has won the November 5 election because he did not panic when he was picked up after the attack and showed a fist, saying ‘fight, fight, fight’," Hussain told a private TV channel. "He showed bravery and he will get a sympathy vote. Like, our country Trump supporters will see a conspiracy behind it. The attack is condemnable but it will politically benefit him."

Trump was shot in the ear during a campaign rally earlier this month, an event expected to reshape the presidential race and raise questions about his security.

Senator Hussain confidently predicted Trump’s win on November 5, asserting that "Trump will be a better president than Biden." He argued that Trump would be the first president since John F. Kennedy not representing the American establishment, and would stop the Ukraine war without starting new conflicts against Muslims.

Hussain accused US President Joe Biden of being "fully complicit" in the Gaza massacre, calling him a "warmonger" escalating NATO tensions, provoking Russia in Ukraine, and pursuing a containment policy against China.