While the world is getting ready for the possibility of America being led by Donald Trump, we in Pakistan may also have our reasons to closely watch the rise of a leader who is like, well, Donald Trump. But don’t let me be diverted by what is happening in Pakistan. That would be too disconcerting. And we cannot visualize the outcome of many crises that are brewing.
Trump is certainly a valid excuse for my column this week. On Thursday, he accepted his nomination as the presidential candidate of the Republican Party and the acceptance speech he delivered is being carefully examined for clues as to what his second administration could be like.
A national convention that nominates the party’s presidential candidate every four years is always a grand spectacle. Democrats and Republicans have both had some historic moments on such occasions. However, the Republican convention held this week in Milwaukee was marked by an extraordinary sense of drama. Trump, the party’s charismatic leader, had just survived an assassination attempt at a campaign rally.
In fact, the visuals that the assassination attempt provided have raised the electoral spirits of the Republicans. That the bullet just brushed his ear was seen as some kind of divine intervention. In his speech, Trump said that he felt safe because “I had God on my side”. This is how religion is invested in his campaign. For his followers, he dodged that bullet because he is the man of destiny. Here is a classic example of how the........