Divide and Run

If Donald Trump wins the US presidency, the first question to ask would be-how did we even get here?

- Ankita M. Kumar

IT’S January 6, 2021. Hundreds of people barge onto Capitol Hill in Washington DC, causing damage to public property, assaulting the police and crying foul about the election, which the incumbent president, Donald J. Trump, apparently lost. The violence on Capitol Hill sent shockwaves across the United States and the world and kicked off the largest investigation in the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) history. One would think an incident like this would end one’s political career in America. Fast forward to 2024. Trump is now on his third bid for the presidency and is predicted by several research organisations to win and edge out the Democratic candidate, Kamala Harris.

Why does Trump, one of the most divisive figures in history, command such a hold on the minds of Americans? His rise to power in 2016, his shock win over Hillary Clinton to clinch the US presidency and his renewed bid against another female candidate is making us question as a society as to whether we even know each other in the first place.

When Trump first came into the political scene, announcing his presidential candidacy on a sunny day in New York in 2015, a lot of people didn’t take him seriously. “We are going to make our country great again!” he announced to a cheering crowd. Basing his campaign on anti-immigration policies, opposition to trade agreements and other issues, and promises as absurd as building a “big beautiful wall” on the border with Mexico, he became the instant favourite and a crowd puller at his campaign speeches. In 2016, the liberal left of America stared in horror as Trump won the popular vote and edged out the fiery Clinton, who was banking on becoming the first woman president of the US.