DONALD TRUMP IS LESS PRESIDENT OF THE United States and more campaigner-in-chief. Since he took office in January 2017, Trump, and his White House, has been geared towards making sure he remains popular. His popularity is key. In July 2018, he tweeted: “I am the most popular person in history. Beating Lincoln. I beat our Honest Abe.” Trump was referring to Abraham Lincoln, one of the most well-regarded U.S. presidents. This is not the only tweet or public statement where Trump broadcasts his alleged popularity. He is forever disseminating polls of the high regard he is held in by Republican voters (“94 per cent Approval Rating in the Republican Party, a record. Thank you!” he announced in September 2019). As a former game show host and as a real estate developer, Trump knows the value of popularity; it is the coin that he most cherishes.
At campaign rallies, Trump feverishly inhales the devotion of his followers and gives them a tale of gloom to bind them closer to him. He is not able to move an agenda, he complains, because theDemocratic Party and the “deep state” are aligned against him. The formula that Trump offers in these campaign rallies is straightforward:
1. I was elected to make America great again, which includes getting you jobs.
2. The Democratic Party has muzzled me with this impeachment investigation and now trial.
3. If I did not have this muzzle, I would have built the wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, which would have prevented the entry of migrants into the country.
4. These migrants are taking away your jobs, which is why you cannot get them.
5. My failure to make America great again is due entirely to the Democrats and their impeachment obsession.
This story is from the December 20, 2019 edition of FRONTLINE.
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This story is from the December 20, 2019 edition of FRONTLINE.
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How Not To Handle An Epidemic
The lockdowns were meant to buy time to put in place appropriate health measures and contain the coronavirus’ spread, but they have failed to achieve the objective and heaped immense misery on the marginalised sections of society. India is still in the exponential phase of the COVID-19 infection and community transmission is a reality that the government refuses to accept.
Tragedy on foot
As the COVID-19-induced lockdown cuts the ground beneath their feet in Tamil Nadu, thousands of migrant workers are trudging along the highway to the relative safety of their upcountry homes.
Sarpanchs as game changers
Odisha manages to keep COVID-19 well under control because of the strong participation of panchayati raj institutions and the community at the grass-roots level under the leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Scapegoating China
As the COVID-19 death rate spikes and the economy tanks in the United States, Donald Trump and his advisers target China and the World Health Organisation with an eye to winning the forthcoming presidential election.
New worries
Kerala’s measured approach to the pandemic and lockdown has yielded results. But it still has to grapple with their huge economic impact on its economy, which it feels the Centre’s special financial relief package does little to alleviate.
No love lost for labour
Taking advantage of the lockdown and the inability of workers to organise protests, many State governments introduce sweeping changes to labour laws to the detriment of workers on the pretext of reviving production and boosting the economy.
Capital's Malthusian moment
In a world that needs substantial reorienting of production and distribution, Indian capital is resorting to a militant form of moribund neoliberalism to overcome its current crisis. In this pursuit of profit, it is ready and willing to throw into mortal peril millions whom it adjudicates as not worth their means—an admixture of social Darwinism born of capital’s avarice and brutalism spawned by Hindutva. .
Understanding migration
When governments and their plans are found to be blatantly wanting in addressing reverse migration, exercises such as the Ekta Parishad’s survey of migrant workers throughout India can be useful to work out creative long-lasting solutions.
Waiting for Jabalpur moment
The Supreme Court’s role in ensuring executive accountability during the ongoing lockdown leaves much to be desired. Standing in shining contrast is the record of some High Courts.
An empty package
The Modi regime, which has been unable to control the COVID-19 infection, restore economic activity and provide relief to millions exposed to starvation, trains its sights on Indian democracy, making use of the panic generated by fear and a lockdown that forecloses paths of resistance.
