Durban - Call him bumptious, offensively arrogant or even racist and sexist, but there’s one thing you have to concede about Donald Trump. Like the late Amichand Rajbansi, he never misses a trick to whip up publicity.
Having already offended droves of women voters, African-Americans, Mexicans and Muslims, the beleaguered Republican Party candidate turned his attention to wooing the minority Hindu community in the US last week.
He was guest of honour when about 5 000 members of the Republican Hindu Coalition rolled up for a glitzy rally in New Jersey, ostensibly to raise funds for victims of terrorism in India and Bangladesh. But with Trump’s star billing and heavy doses of Indian nationalist rhetoric at the event, charity took a back seat.
The Republican chump didn’t get a chance to dance the bhangra, but made up for it with his songs of praise for India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, declaring that India and the US would be “best friends” if he makes it to the White House.
And, true to form, he showed a predictable ignorance of Indian religious and cultural realities, telling his audience: “I’m a big fan of Hindu, and I’m a big fan of India. Big, big fan.” Almost as if Hindu and India are synonymous. Nor did he realise the capital of India is not Mumbai, as he claimed, but New Delhi.
After a rendition of the national anthem, the audience was treated to a bizarre video featuring a simulated terrorist attack in which two couples are rescued by men dressed as US Navy Seals - presumably tapping into the anti-Muslim sentiment inspired by Trump in the US.
Guests then rose for the Star-Spangled Banner before dancing to Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the USA. How patriotic.
Now, before you start drawing any conclusions, let’s get a few things clear. First, Indians in the US are among the highest-earning and most-educated in the country. And as glitzy as last week’s Diwali bash might have been, it won’t make much of a difference at the November 8 polls. Indian-Americans traditionally support the Democratic Party overwhelmingly. A recent survey showed that if the vote were held today, 67 percent would support Hillary Clinton with only 7 percent for Trump.
So it’s back to the drawing board for Donald as he gropes for votes in new constituencies.
The Sunday Independent