Trumpophobia

Recently I attended a conference where there were panel discussions about changes in the government's position and other aspects of American society after the election of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States. I can understand the apprehensions and concerns of people to see a nonconventional candidate registering a surprise victory over a well-qualified candidate, but I didn't understand the irrational fear and phobia associated with Mr. Trump and some of his policies. It was pretty clear from the beginning that Mr. Trump is not a conventional candidate, the way he conducted his campaign and his speeches were enough to prove this. In the end, people from more number of states preferred his rhetoric over Mrs. Clinton's and he won a bitterly fought election. Quite understandably Hillary's supporters were shocked to witness this, but I thought that they would get over this defeat and try to search for reasons why this happened so that they can fight back next time. This is what any political party should do after facing a defeat in any election. Reflecting on what went wrong is very important to make sure that we don't repeat the same mistakes again.

The general tone of most of the panel discussions was that the USA is moving towards a dictatorship, minorities will be targeted with the government's tacit approval, and there is a fascist regime in the White House. There is a change of regime and it is very clear that the current administration has a different outlook compared to the previous one. But, this is what happens when one party replaces another, that's why we get to choose which party (hence, which policy) we want the country should adopt. This time people thought Trump might do a better job to forward American interest, let's give him a chance. Others, who don't agree with the President, definitely have democratic means to protest against his policies and resist in peaceful ways. At the same time, it is wrong to spread unnecessary fear and phobia about a person who has not even completed 100 days in the office. In a democracy, we need to respect people's choices, free and fair elections are the backbone of any democracy, and we should honor the results of such elections. 

I also registered my strong opposition to Trump's comments about women and his general attitude toward them. I still have reservations about most of his policies, but I also know that he has a clear mandate to be the President of the USA and will need the support of all its citizens and residents to run it successfully for the next four years. In 2020, there will be another election and there will be another chance for all Trump opponents to fight another electoral battle until then they need to watch his actions closely. Political opposition is necessary to make sure the voices of all sections of society are being heard and the interests of each and all groups are represented, but this opposition should not become such a hindrance in governance that nothing moves forward. Sonner the people get over this Trumpophobia, better for the country. There was an Obamaphobia in certain sections of political circles for the last eight years, and now there is an emergence of a Trumpophobia, I believe such phobias are bad for the political and social health of a country like the USA. Let's give the new President some time to prove his capabilities and be vigilant about the country's interests first. There will be another election soon to take care of political interests, but let's focus on the country and its welfare for now.

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]