News / Opinion

Trump International

By BRIAN DAN DING

Beatings. Mayhem. Crackdowns. Mob Rule. These antagonistic words do not describe an uprising in some third world country, rather, they have been plastered all over television to describe the increasing violence at Trump rallies... In the past, Trumps rallies have demonstrated a revolutionary behavior in the American psyche especially when his supporters are violently clashing with protestors. The only reliable take away that could be predicted in a Trump rally is its sheer unreliability.

Edison is not any homogenous middle America town, we represent a worldly spectrum of opinions that sometimes are voided out by average Americans. At some times, when I drive into the bread basket of America, the short of place that is idealized to be the “American standard”, I notice how inward people look. They don’t care what the global community is doing or what foreigners are saying, they just look and talk about what’s good for me and not what’s good for the world.

But in a world that is globalizing, a world that has to constantly interact with each other, it is no longer feasible to just care about yourself. Americans have to take more consideration to what others are saying. Moreover,  by reflecting and responding to what everyone else thinks about Trump, Americans will finally be able to  see how contradictory Trump’s message of strengthening America’s foreign policy, yet dividing the vast majority of Americans against his viewpoints and ultimately making Americans look weaker in the eyes of foreign nations.

One of the most bashed upon countries by Trump has been once again scapegoated for the failure of America’s economy. Yet China has always had a divided stance on a Trump since the  start of the election cycle.  On one hand, the Chinese middle class are extremely fond of Trump’s merchandise, especially his book The Art of the Deal. This significantly demonstrates that a great number of Chinese people actually value the kind of business acumen that Trump has been known for. Even so, Chinese people are distressed about Trump’s fighting words against them and about how he would set things straight in terms of trade. The one party establishment has certainly been horrified about how he’s inciting so much unbridled rage among the American populace and how he has fostered dissent and protest. However, Trump actually seems to be a viably perplexing world leader when compared to the hawkish Clinton who would arguably do more to fight the China in trade. Trump in the eyes of the Chinese is a businessman  through and through, and not a fighter that collapse the world economy.

On the other end of the spectrum , India has gotten zero coverage or mention by Trump, yet a vast majority of Indians could relate to Trump’s message. Plagued by sectional clashes over the caste system and over daily conflict over religion , Indian politics has never had a unified message on just about anything.  Just recently, tens of millions of farmers have marched and protested over water rights instead of simply settling it in court. Indians have their own unique way to dissent. These sort of massive angry protests can only be replicated by a country that houses more than a billion people. But when it comes to Trump himself, Indians see that Trump would be a force for disaster between the two countries. When Trump so avidly proclaims that Muslims should be temporarily banned from entering America, and when  over 170 million Muslims live in India , you can see why people have a  problem with him. However, Trump has also captured the imaginations of Indians as many of the high rise pricey constructions that are happening in cities such as Mumbai and New Delhi are in his name. Indian politics is an overall bitter affair filled with political assassination attempts and daily protest, this sort of politicking would not fit the shoes of America and if replicated, would cause harm to American prestige abroad.  

At this point, it seems as though history continues to repeat itself especially in Europe where something long buried has once again emerged: xenophobia and nativism. Although Americans would like to classify all Europeans as friendly Caucasians that are nice to visit before college, Europeans think surprisingly well for Trump. Although a majority of European leaders condemn Trump such as David Cameron of the United Kingdom, a nationalist wave of xenophobes and nationalism  has struck European politics. People such as Marine le Pen of the National Front in France has gained enormous traction for saying outrageously negative things about new immigrants after the Paris bombings. A far right nationalist party has toppled the previous government in Poland have taken the reins of Government. These examples show that Trump’s ideas are not unique and the people who are xenophobes are not strictly American rednecks. Moreover, this xenophobic behavior long thought to be below the minds of Europeans is a similar story with Americans who fear that their country is falling back into segregation and overt racism.

The peoples of the world have varying opinions about Trump and his violent protests. However, everyone sees Trump as a force that will disintegrate the American political system and ultimately weaken the United States’ position as a leader. Trump is nothing new for many countries as they have gone through the gone through the same growing pains as the United States. However, the violence and the backlash will ultimately translate into foreign backlash against a would be presidential nominee.

Image Source: http://justgoodvibe.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/trump-international-hotel-and-tower-1.jpg

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