Not without the 12-digit blessing

A SHARED SLICE

- RENÉE RANCHAN

Mornings on the outskirts of Delhi begin with the shrill peal of many a peacock’s call, the clink of teacups, and, in our house, the voice of CNN—It’s become a sort of morning hymn, the kind my mother insists on for “global awareness”.

One doesn't have to be listening; the noise finds you anyway, drifting through the curtains, settling like dust. And lately, the sound has had a familiar timbre: Donald J. Trump, larger than life, louder than reason, once again commanding the stage as if history were an encore written just for him!

The latest spectacle—a 100 % tariff on Chinese imports—arrived, as most of his policies do, with the subtlety of a marching band in a library. From Halloween Pumpkins to Christmas Fairy Lights, the season of American consumer cheer may have to make do with domestic tinsel and recycled ghosts. I watched one correspondent trying to explain it: “It’s about protecting American workers,” she declared, straight-faced, as footage showed a warehouse full of plastic Santas and inflatable Reindeers stranded at customs.

My husband, buttering his toast with the gravitas of a judge, muttered, “Perhaps this year they'll decorate with sincerity instead.” He has a way of making understatement sound like policy. Across the room, the kettle hissed—the only thing in our household still working at full capacity.

I sometimes wonder if Trump's political theatre is less about governance and more about seasonal entertainment. After all, America’s in the thick of it—Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas—each holiday an opportunity for patriotic merchandising! But what happens when the baubles and batteries double in price?! When your Turkey costs as much as your mortgage?! It’s hard to “Make America Great Again” when even your Fairy Lights revolt, don’t you think?!