If there was any hope that Donald
Trump would change tactics and be more restrained after winning the Republican party Presidential
nomination for the November 8 US
election, that hope is now lost. The fellow has remained aggressive, incorrigible brash and completely negative.
Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson has asked: “Is Donald Trump just plain crazy?” (August 1). Robinson says he is “increasingly convinced,” and
that Trump’s “grasp on reality appears to be tenuous at best.”
The way he is carrying on, indeed
Trump may need a mental fitness test soon. By now, it must be clear to all and sundry, that he poses a great risk to the United States, to democracy and the liberal world. President Barack Obama has dismissed him as being unfit to be
President, he being so totally
unprepared, he being no more than a bumbling apprentice seeking the highest job in the United States.
A man given to melodrama and
expletives such as Trump, without any respect for basic decorum and standards would make a very bad President. He must be prevented from doing damage to the free world. I am however, surprised that there are Nigerians who insist that he is a better choice. I don’t think so. And don’t ask me why Nigerians should be so divided
over another country’s election. The truth is that America’s Presidential election is a world election. There are millions of Nigerians and Africans living
in the United States and even greater numbers hoping to visit, study or live in the United States. What happens in America affects the rest of the world. If a Trump Presidency happens, we are all in
trouble.
What Trump stands for is anti-progress. It amounts to a fascist, authoritarian promotion of a brand of nationalism that defeats the objectives of inclusion and
togetherness. But he says, “I’m really a nice guy believe me, I pride myself on being a nice guy but I‘m also passionate and determined to make our country great again” Nice guy? A nice guy who says he wants to build a wall to barricade Mexico. This nice guy couldn’t
even stand the sight of a crying baby, interrupting his speech. He had to ask the poor mother to take her baby out of the room. Nice guy has been busy abusing the parents of an American soldier who died in action in Iraq. He doesn’t even believe that African Americans and other minorities should be allowed to vote. He says Mexicans are
criminals and rapists. This nice guy doesn’t want immigrants and Muslims in America. He talks down
on women, Hispanics and blacks. He does not even believe that Black lives matter. He supports nuclear war because it would be “pretty quick” and he wants Japan and South Korea to have their
own nuclear weapons. This nice guy is a fan of Muammar Gaddafi, Sadam Hussein and Vladimir Putin. Affordable Care that allows more Americans to have access to quality healthcare is unacceptable to him. If he becomes President he will expel over 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States,
and put an end to birthright citizenship. Trump’s real ambition is to become an Emperor of the United States, and by extension the world. But sorry, America’s Constitutional traditions will
not allow that. The American voter
should deny him his dream.
That moment which President Barack Obama alluded to, when he said there must come a moment when a people must say thus far and no further has come: with Trump, yes. Which is why it is good news that he has been dropping
in the polls, and the myth that he is
unstoppable is exploding. Common sense is beginning to prevail in America. Like all politicians in his situation, Trump has become more aggressive and temperamental. He even says the election will be rigged. It is so easy to complain about rigging in an election
that has not yet taken place, not so?
His supporters are even threatening that there will be “bloodbath” and
“widespread civil disobedience” if he loses the election! Wait a moment: arethere some Nigerians working for Trump, some Nigerian politicians teaching him dirty tricks? He should wake up: if he loses the election as he should, there will be dancing in the streets from New York to my mother’s
village. Every vote against Trump, the man who wants to turn America away from the rest of the world, will be a vote for American progress. But his latest desperation sends one clear message: he should not be under-estimated. His blunt refusal to back the re-election of House
Speaker Paul Ryan just shows the kind of man he is: vengeful.
The Republican establishment wants to dump him. Forget it. That is too late in the day and it is probably the surest way to further damage the GOP. And how about Trump himself throwing in the
towel? No way! His campaign
spokesperson, Hope Hicks has ruled this out saying, “There is no truth to this whatsoever.” Of course, he won’t. Megalomaniacs like Trump do not quit.
He likes the limelight. He enjoys being a
Presidential standard bearer. Even when
it becomes clear that he will lose, Trump
would keep trudging on. Defeat would
still be a win-win for him in any case.
He can subsequently milk his
Presidential campaign for big profit: a
book, a movie, another reality television
show, or speaking engagements. And
Trump will still push himself into our
faces on television: no doubt, he would
make a good, fictional President on
television, but not in the White House.
Yes, Mr. Trump, stay in the race.
Hillary Clinton is the acceptable choice.
But it is unfortunate that the 2016 US
Presidential election has been reduced to
a strictly moral choice: who sounds more
humane between the two candidates? It
has also been reduced to emotions rather
than the big issues: who makes us feel
safe, and which candidate makes us
nervous? Trump does not inspire with
any of his incoherent ideas: what
miracle can anyone expect from a
Presidential candidate who says climate
change is a “hoax”, specializes in
abusing people, and believes that he
needs bully tactics rather than ideas to
win an important election. He combines
this with make-believe strategies. But the
American Presidency is not Trump
Casino or Trump Steaks. Trump’s
strongest point is his ability to exploit
the fears of an alienated middle class
that feels shortchanged by the American
system.
He has accordingly, been very aggressive
in labeling Hillary Clinton as a co-
architect of this system and co-author of
all the fears currently being entertained
by average middle class Americans: fears
about how the power elite and the rich
are alienated from the people. Fears
about spreading poverty and
unemployment particularly in inner
America. Fears about the continuing rise
of a rich minority that continues to
dominate American life, business and
culture. Fears about the increasing influx
of immigrants who bring problems of
their own and take jobs meant for white
Americans.
These fears are real and Trump, being
the ultimate salesman and xenophobe is
heaping all the blames on Hillary Clinton
and the class she seemingly represents.
He calls her “The Devil,” and now he
says, she is “the founder of Isis”. Trump
wants to be President for the sake of it.
He wants to prove that he can be
President. But he has no idea about
governance and he really does not think
governance matters. Hillary Clinton can
win and should, but overwhelming
international goodwill is not the thing.
The current lead in the polls in Mrs
Clinton’s favour may not be enough to
discourage Trump, who is apparently far
more desperate.
Offensive as his messaging process is, I
repeat that he cannot be under-
estimated in any way, and Hillary
Clinton must not assume that victory is
certain without the rigorous hard work
that will stop Trump from getting to the
Oval Office. She needs to allay the fears
of the alienated and vulnerable
Americans who actually suspect that she
may be one of the many “Devils” in
America. Trump must not be allowed to
use Casino tactics to become America’s
President. He is unfit.