Why Trump Needs To Be Trumped | Vijay Kumar

The Old Adage: “When America sneezes, the world catches cold” may have worn out, but it remains the most powerful country in the world. The coming US Presidential Election in November is taking place in the most cataclysmic time, marked by a complete collapse of rule-based international order and international law, exacerbated by Putin and Netanyahu’s attack on Ukraine and Gaza respectively. At the same time, there is a stark contrast between the Republican and Democrat nominees, and thus, the outcome of the election will be extremely consequential --- not only for the US, but for the world.

Unlike the disastrous performance by Joe Biden in his debate with Trump on 27th June, which forced him to withdraw from the election, and endorsed his Veep, Kamla Harris for the race, the latter came out on top with her debate with Trump on Tuesday. According to a CNN poll, Harris won the debate by a huge margin of 63 to 37. Thus, the electoral bounce generated in the Chicago Democratic convention seems to have been consolidated. But this upper hand in the debate should not induce any complacency in the democrat strategy. After all, Hillary Clinton, too, put Trump on the mat in her debate with him in the 2016 election. America today is dangerously polarized, and Trump’s votes are almost intact.

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are diametrically opposite in all respects, including the foreign policy on which bipartisanship was the norm before Trump’s arrival in the White House in 2016., and their divergent images and stands deserve to be noticed at the outset.

• Trump is a pathological liar, disruptor of the world order, incorrigibly racist, self-obsessed narcissist, insufferable megalomaniac, and inveterate misogynist. In complete contrast to this, Kamala Harris represents progressive and liberal ethos and values America is known for;
• Trump is dead against migration policy, whereas Kamala Harris is extremely circumspect on this issue;
• Trump is ultra neo-liberal in his economic policy and his win would accentuate the inequality. Though Trump has distanced away from ‘Project 2025, which is the radical prescription for changing the very structure of the Administration from the inside out, few have any doubt about the project being wholly Trump–backed. The economic inequality in the US is abnormally high and inequity inherent in it would be further aggravated. On the other hand, Kamala Harris will address the issue of rising inequality. In fact, she is addressing the issues concerning the middle class;
• Trump and three ultra-conservative judges: Neil. M. Gorsuch, Bret. M. Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barret appointed by him will further tilt the balance against abortion, exemplified by the most regressive judgment of the Supreme Court in Dobb vs Jackson, rendered in June 2022, which overruled the most liberal judgment of the US Supreme Court in Roe vs. Wade handed down in 1973 granting the women right to terminate her pregnancy. On the other side of the spectrum, Kamala Harris is the staunchest advocate of abortion and has criticized the Dobb judgment in withering language, and reiterated her position boldly and convincingly in Tuesday’s debate;
• Trump, if elected, will compound the pathological problem of race in the US, as he is incorrigibly white supremacist. On the other hand, Kamala Harris on account of her farraginous background, as her mother is Indian and her father is a Jamaican Black, will promote the multi-culturalism, pluralism and heterogeneity that would entrench the liberal social culture of the U.S;
• The Veep nominee of Democrat, Tim Waltz is known for supporting women’s rights and worker’s rights. This is in complete contrast to Trump and his Veep nominee, J.D. Vance’s preference for neo-liberalism. Harris and Waltz will promote a more inclusive and equitable political and economic order. Vance’s comment of “childless little cat” about Harris only confirms his misogynist credential;
• Trump will act like a bull in China shop and will disrupt the rule-based international order, as he did during his presidency by distancing from NATO and openly admiring the play-pen dictators like Putin of Russia and Kim Jong um of North Korea. The victory of Trump will further embolden Netanyahu and that would result in mutilation of the very idea of Palestinian State. In complete contrast to this, the Harris team will lend support to NATO and voice concern about the aggression unleashed by Netanyahu;
• Trump will be impervious to democratic backslide and violation of human rights in US and other parts of the world, while Kamala Harris will interrogate the democratic regression and the human rights abuses;
• Trump is a felon, whereas Harris has been a prosecutor and this background helped the latter in outshining the former in Tuesday’s debate;
• Democrats have rallied around Harris in a striking act of unity and solidarity, which was conspicuous by its absence in 2016 when Hillary Clinton contested against Trump. On the other side of the spectrum, one of the most striking developments is the shifting of preference by conventional conservative Republicans that is evident from Mitt Romney and Liz Cheney. The fact of the latter’s father and quondam Veep, Dick Cheney coming out in support of Harris, perhaps, has no parallel.

The Importance Of Soft Power

I have been arguing since the collapse of the erstwhile USSR that the Cold War culminated in favour of the US because of its soft power anchored solidly in the absolute right to free speech and expression guaranteed by the First Amendment. Militarily, the strength of the US and erstwhile USSR was almost on par, and results were mixed for both countries. While the Vietnam War was a waterloo for US military prowess, the Afghan misadventure turned out to be an unmitigated disaster for the USSR and hastened the dismantling of communism. The foundation of the soft power of the US stands on three pillars of unbridled freedom of speech and expression, and its robust enforcement by the Supreme Court, Hollywood and prestigious Ivy League institutions.

This soft power image grounded in liberal values and individual rights, however, can flourish only when the democratic process is fair and transparent. Accepting defeat with grace is a foundational tenet for sustaining democracy, and Trump breached this when he refused to accept the result of the 2020 election, and engineered riots on Capitol Hill – the very citadel of US democracy on 6th January 2021. As the Republican Party has embraced neo-capitalism since Reagan’s era, the process of democratic effervescence has suffered erosion and will further be attenuated, if Trump wins the White House race a second time.

The result of the November 5 Election has critical relevance for the world order. In particular, the contours of the outcome of two ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza by Putin and Netanyahu respectively would be shaped by the outcome of the election. Unlike Joe Biden, who has been vacillating on the Gaza attack, Kamala Harris has already taken a stand on Israel’s attack on Gaza, and her victory may result in cessation of aggression, if not the creation of two separate States. On the other hand, Trump’s success will only embolden Netanyahu to commit more aggression. The statement issued by Putin that he likes Harris has not found any taker.

More than Israel’s war on Gaza, the future of the Ukraine war is critically dependent on the US Presidential election. Kamala Harris, like Joe Biden, will continue to help Ukraine through aid and supply of weapons and through the involvement of NATO. On the other hand, Trump’s fondness for Putin is well-known, and if he occupies the White House, it will have calamitous consequences for Ukraine, nay the very existence of NATO.

Future of Human Rights

Though the issue of Human Rights is inextricably intertwined with US own self-interest rather than principled commitment, yet there is always a difference between Republican and Democrat administrations, at least in terms of degree, if not in kind. Trump believes in and practice transactional politics. The issue of Human Rights has never been a concern for him. On the other hand, the democrat takes serious notes of Human Rights violations. The transactional politics of Trump will be wholly indifferent to human rights and its abuses while Kamala Harris would give due priority to the transgression of human rights and democratic norms.

The Trump win will give a fillip to rightist politics---- not only in US but in other parts of the world, particularly in continental Europe. The impressive performance of the extreme right party of Maine Le Pen in the Parliamentary election in France and AdF in the recent election in Germany may get a further boost from the Trump victory. The right-wing politics, grounded in the toxic combination of ethnic and racial supremacism and neo-liberalism will, eventually, accelerate the emergence of fascism and backsliding of democracy ---- not only in the US but in other parts of the world, too.

This ensuing election is more important than past elections for more than one reason. I entirely endorse the editorial comment of the New York Times that, ultimately, it is a question of who, between Trump and Harris, has right attitude, and the answer is obvious. Triumph of Kamala Harris would result in breach of glass-ceiling, which could not be breached in 2016 despite Hilary Clinton securing more popular votes than Trump. Therefore, the win of Kamala Harris would be profoundly historic, as first time woman will occupy the White House – the most powerful political executive office in the world.

(Author: Vijay Kumar is a Senior Advocate, the Supreme Court
and author of the book ‘The Theory of ‘Basic Structure’: Saviour of the Constitution and Democracy)