Trump-lovers of the world unite

Hard to believe, but Donald Trump, the Republican Party’s nominee in America’s next presidential elections, does have a seemingly dedicated fan club outside of his core base of less educated, working class whites in the non-metropolitan parts of the United States. The motives of these unusual fans differ somewhat amongst themselves but their admiration, indeed adulation, of the orange-haired real estate developer from New York City is quite evident from their activities on the ground and posts on social media. Who are they? Well, four major types of non-typical Trumpists come to mind. First, there are the saffron cultists in India who have been often seen -- and mocked -- for doing regular public prayers to invoke the blessings of the deities on Donald Trump’s endeavours since he announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination last year. Often aligned to the Hindutva supremacist groups like RSS, Bajrang Dal, and VHP, these gentlemen are likely enamoured by two things they perceive to be represented by the Trump phenomena, one substantive and the other symbolic.

Once the province exclusively of fringe anti-America elements, such conspiracy theories coming out of the conservative party’s nominee for president of the United States is almost like a validation for those who have made careers out of trading in these tales of nefarious plots and intrigues

Trump’s anti-Muslim rhetoric must be sweet to the ears of the Sangh Parivar while his dalliance with swastika-wielding, white nationalists finds resonance amongst a constituency where the swastika is revered, albeit for different reasons perhaps. In fact, an article in a September 2014 issue of the Jerusalem Post by Josh Steinert alluded to the potential of the Adolf Hitler cult to influence the saffron brigade in India. Second, there are the Islamists in the Middle East and elsewhere who have taken an incredible shine to Donald Trump’s pronouncements. Giddy about the billionaire’s peddling of various conspiracy theories about the 9/11 massacre, the most ardent of the Islamists on social media can barely conceal their excitement in saying, in so many words: “We told you so.” Once the province exclusively of fringe anti-America elements, such conspiracy theories coming out of the conservative party’s nominee for president of the United States is almost like a validation for those who have made careers out of trading in these tales of nefarious plots and intrigues. Additionally, for the more religio-culture warriors of Islam, the shrill and narrow ethnic nationalism of the Trumpists provides a great boon to their own arguments that Muslims need to live in insular conditions away from all others if they are to have peace. Even America, that ultimate haven of freedom and pluralism -- this thinking goes -- is no refuge for even the most modern and cosmopolitan of the so-called “Ummah.” Third, there are the revanchists of Eastern Europe, whose homelands are yet to recover from the debris of 50 years of Marxism and whose cultural identity has been reduced to little more than a function of their largely all-white societies. A toxic mix of nostalgia for the Cold War, dystopian culture, and authoritarian structures that provided a basic sense of stability in the not-so-good old days fuels a resentment for the prosperity and freedoms evident in the much more cosmopolitan West, freedoms and cosmopolitanism that Donald Trump himself openly derides. The result is a sense of kinship that finds Vladimir Putin and Trump engaging in a mutual adoration fest in statements while Vice President Biden is greeted by Serbian nationalists with protests and pro-Trump signs on his recent official visit. Last, but not least, are those who, for various reasons, have always been frightened of a muscular American foreign policy. To these people -- from the North Korea to Zimbabwe to the various hard Left remnants in Western Europe -- an American presidential nominee disparaging NATO and talking up isolationism is sweet music to the ears. Too often the meddling diplomatic efforts of the United States on behalf of precarious NGOs are the only checks, albeit feeble, on the full throated march to absolutism that many a Robert Mugabe or Kim Jong-Un wish for themselves. These four types of Trump admirers are very different people with different geographic and political anchors. What is chillingly similar about them all, however, is deep-seated ethno-nationalist chauvinism ungirded by a fascination for authoritarianism and nostalgia. In him, these people abroad see their own vilest instincts validated by the potential leader of the free world, though how much “free” that world will be under a Trump presidency remains to be seen. Heck, I am even seeing posts from one or two Bangladeshis these days who are enamoured by Trump and, invariably, these Bangladeshis are also very fond of the current dispensation in Dhaka. Colour me surprised … or not!  Esam Sohail is an educational research analyst and college lecturer of social sciences. He writes from Kansas, USA.