The Pervasive Nature of Donald Trump
I have spent the past two weeks in the wonderful city of Stockholm. I have the pleasure of meeting people from all across the world; from India to Chile, from coast of Portugal to the Baltic Sea, students gathered at the Royal Institute of Technology. It is an amazing experience to see the different cultures, hear the different accents, and watch us all mingle and connect even though we come from such different circumstances. We try to learn the stories of others, and see reflections of our own tales. Each of us are invariably so different, but all of us are connected by this thread that pulls us together to learn more about the world, and how we can all fit in a little bit better. It is in this environment of multiculturalism, academics, and collaboration that I have to explain the phenomenon of Trump.
Now anyone who knows me knows I enjoy talking about politics. It brings me immense joy to discuss the complexities of governmental and political actions, and the ramifications of policy. I enjoy speaking at great lengths to anyone willing to listen about what I believe are the intentions of politicians, and what their actions mean for the nation at large. I would be abusing the power of understatement when I say that I have found an audience for my sermons.
Donald Trump is on the minds of every student I have met thus far. His actions and policies bewilder many, and disappoint the others. More than anything, I have found that people are curious that America was able to elect a man like Donald Trump, especially after the election of Barack Obama. From the conversations with my friends back home, even they were caught surprised by the election results. And it is through my conversations here that I realize the pervasive nature of President Trump.
It is often said President Trump doesn’t represent America or its people, and in the wake of the election results, many point to the popular vote tallies to defend their claim. The polls, elections results, and the media fail to capture the same sentiment that won Donald Trump the election, and turned formerly blue states into red ones. Donald Trump is America.
Donald Trump is America. He is the promise of opportunity, while actively limiting its scope. He is the voice of security, while taking actions that make us less safe. He is the man of the people, surrounded by advisors further removed from actual Americans than in the history of the country. He has tapped into every vein of America, and represents the nation in so many different ways, that we find it difficult to accept.
In the weeks I have been here and have had to explain Trump, as the man, as the candidate, and as the President, I find myself using terminology that would describe any other American. Descriptions of his ideology, show their familiarity with Americans that fit his description. He captures us in a way that we don’t want to, exposing the images of our nation that we hoped were burnt.
The truth is that Donald Trump embodies the American Dream and ideals in a way that we never hoped he would. He is a living testament to the idea that in our nation, that if we set our mind to it, anyone can be President.
We knew how to stop Trump all along; we knew that his poll numbers fed off the media and that the less he got, the worse he did. But no one ever stopped. Not the public, not the media, and not the elites. We all watched, gasping in horror, and shock, and disdain, but we all kept watching. We knew we need to look away, but we didn’t. We knew he had to lose, but never really did anything to ensure it. That’s because we all know, that Donald is the real America.
In my weeks here, I have never hid from the questions about Trump, because I know the America he represents. I know the fear that he captures is the same fear I see in people’s eyes when I speak in Telugu in public. I know the angst he channels from Middle America is the same anger from the students at Illinois at the mass numbers of Asians, “taking their spots.” These emotions are palpable, tangible, and pervasive. We might disagree with his policy, shake our heads with his twitter use, and be offended by his rhetoric. But what he is, we all know well, because he has tapped into the heart of our society. He has taken all the ideals that we hold dear and embodied them. Now we point out the hypocrisies in his statements, without ever realizing that they stem from our social fabric.
The students I have met here see this hypocrisy; the stains visible only from afar. These hypocrisies exist everywhere, they are not unique to America. But our willingness to tolerate it, after seeing in plain view, set us apart. Men much more powerful than President Trump have made attempts to maintain a façade that tricks the populace into believing in their policies. We have afforded President Trump the ability to abandon this formality, and he has shown us from the beginning who he really is. Even now, people claim to be surprised that he has followed through with his campaign promises, and that he is truly working towards the goals he set out for. The shock comes from a simple place, they don’t know what their nation is. It is hard for the world to understand the mechanics of Donald Trump, and how he holds the most important seat in the free world. To those of us who live there, we know exactly how he attained his position; Donald Trump is America.