By admin 
That President Donald Trump had, during electioneering campaign, clearly voiced his ‘America First’ policy is no news. For once, Trump’s emphasis on MAGA (Make America Great Again) ideology and fewer rules for American citizens have an uncanny resemblance with Prime Minister Modi’s avowed nationalist philosophy, the goal to make a ‘viksit Bharat’ by 2047, and ‘Minimum Government; Maximum Governance’ motto.
The issue of illegal immigration is also another such problem. While America faces the influx most of all from Mexico, we have it from Bangladesh. Now that President Trump has taken a hard line against Mexico, he should appreciate our problem with Bangladesh where Musk’s bete noire — Deep State — has effected change of guard installing a puppet regime that is low on its democratic credentials but high on anti-India and anti-Hindu rhetoric. Now that Trump has taken over, India would be watching with interest how things take shape in Bangladesh.
What, however, surprised many was Trump’s open attack on the Deep State. There again is the similarity with India, where for the first time, American Deep State was the subject of vehement attack in the Parliament by BJP members of parliament Sudhanshu Trivedi and Sambit Patra, during their criticism of Rahul Gandhi. During Joe Biden’s term, the clout of the Deep State which is seen in collusion with the left had risen, to the dismay of many Americans who have always viewed the communist/socialist ideology as anachronistic to the American ethos. Since the founding of the United States of America, faith in God and the notion of American Dream giving stimulus to individual enterprise have remained inscribed deep in the American psyche. The Cold War with Soviet Russia further fortified this spirit.
The current craze for the Left-sponsored Woke movement and its offshoot DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusivity) has not found favour with Trump. One recalls how his close confidante Elan Musk had voiced outrage after his son underwent sex change and became a daughter without informing Musk, who thereafter, blamed the DEI lessons imparted in schools for it and reacted to this incident by announcing that his son was dead! Trump’s clamp down on the DEI set-up may be seen as his counter to the Deep State which has been supporting the Woke agenda.
Wokism, with its support for equal outcome regardless of calibre goes against the ideal of American exceptionalism that has so far been touted as the unique feature of American society. Ironically, it is the support for calibre-based immigrants that cost Vivek Ramaswamy his job, even as the ire of the MAGA supporters issued from the racist bias against him than from any concern for American exceptionalism. Having sacrificed Vivek as a scapegoat to mollify MAGA crowd, Trump has now mellowed down on the H1-B visa issue for the brilliant immigrants. In this, he could have come up with better description of the talent than just identifying wine-tasters and waitors! After all, legal immigrants from India are better qualified than other immigrants and constitute a significant portion of the pool of professionals, scientists, doctors, software experts etc. To deny their children the right to get American citizenship is a dampener which will help neither the Indian immigrants nor the American economy, because of the strong attachment of Indians to their families.
On the economic front, Trump’s focus on encouraging domestic enterprises and taxing heavily the goods from certain countries with which it faces trade deficit is understandable, but America’s withdrawal from the Paris climate talks and the WHO indicates as if America is facing acute financial problems and cannot afford even these minor charities. Such withdrawal will hit the image of this great nation. This sits at odds with India’s rather liberal contribution.
What puzzles one, however, is Trump’s assurance on one hand of non-interference in the affairs of other countries — militarily or through financial sanctions — on the other, his plan to buy Greenland and induce Canada to be its province, which both Denmark and Canada have vehemently opposed. The Uncle Sam days when America had a finger in every pie being baked in another country should ideally be forgotten now. His promise to end the Arab-Israel war and the Russia-Ukraine war may sound nice, but his modus operandi does not arouse much confidence. Right now, his call upon Russia to mend fences with Ukraine or face economic sanctions may not be to the liking of an equally aggressive President Putin, but one hopes against hope that economics works where military action is not likely to bring in result.
Disclaimer
Views expressed above are the author’s own.
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