TRUMP EFFECT: THE POWER OF NOUN AND VERB

POWER is not a means; it is an end... The object of power is power.

- SHANKKAR AIYAR

OWER is not a means; it is an end... The object of power is power." Donald J Trump has imbibed George Orwell's immortal observation and embodies the idea in letter and spirit.

The inauguration of the 47th US president is more than a month away. Yet, for all intents and purposes, Trump is in power, calling the shots. Mar-a-Lago, his antique-studded mansion spread over 20 acres, is a destination of political pilgrimage. The pilgrims include Keir Starmer, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Javier Milei and Justin Trudeau. Previously, skeptical tsars such as Mark Zuckerberg of Meta, Tim Cook of Apple, who paid obeisance, and Jeff Bezos of Amazon, slated to meet Trump next week, are all contributing to the inaugural.

The analogies triggered in the wake of worthies seeking his audience range from gestures last seen in 18th and 19th century royal courts or in Francis Ford Coppola's cinematic rendition of lesser dons kissing the ring of "The Godfather" to show fealty. Trump sees himself not just as the commander in chief, but as the chief diplomat, the chief trade negotiator and an arbiter of geopolitics and issues that matter.