Playing the Trump Card

The race to the White House is heating up.  Influential business tycoon Donald J. Trump has just secured his strongest position so far as far as the Republican presidential nomination is concerned. This has been made possible in spite of the negative coverage by American news giants, such as the New York Times and Washington Post. These reports state that nearly two-thirds of America’s population is frightened and have expressed concern regarding Donald Trump as a potential president. However, this was a poll conducted earlier this week on Monday, before his speech where he planned to temporarily ban Muslims from all over the world from entry in the United States of America. The Democrats too on the other side have their hands full with the competition. Hillary Clinton still leads her competitor, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont by 20 points. However, her chances of winning the elections in 2016 are only marginally above that of the prospective Republican candidate. Donald Trump has definitely played his cards right. He now commands over 35 percent of the primary Republican voters, with Senator Ted Cruz second on 16 percent.  However, in spite of the lead, Trump has reasons for concern. If the result polls results are to be compared, Ted Cruz’s votes have sharply increased by almost four times. If the pattern does indeed continue, it wouldn’t be long before Trump constantly looks over his shoulder. 

The marked difference between the two parties is that more than 64 percent of Democrats have decided firmly on whom to support. However, as far as the Republicans are concerned, the majority still seems scattered. However, the positives for both Clinton and Trump are that both their supporters seem extremely content with their nominated candidates and are in no mood to change their decisions. Most of the house is concerned about a possible fall out in case Donald Trump was to become the President. Many were concerned about Clinton’s popularity over Trump’s whereas most others seemed concerned about latter’s role and possible policy measures he may undertake as President. 

As presidential elections draw closer, it is a matter of concern on how Donald Trump’s anti-Islam views would be received by the people of the country. According to Vox, a general interest American news site, “Trump isn’t the only candidate in the Republican presidential race whose policies would target Muslims in America and abroad. But what distinguishes Trump from his rivals is that while they downplay the racial overtones in their rhetoric, he plays them up. Thanks to Trump, the cultural anxieties that have simmered under a lot of the post-9/11 policy debate have finally punched through to the surface.” 

In the parlance of politics, a dog whistle is often referred to statement that targets a certain group without being explicit about it. The statement often panders to the prejudices of the politician’s core constituency, without explicitly alienating too many neutral voters. Indian politicians have used the dog whistle to avoid the moniker of hate speech. What Trump has done is to completely do away with the dog whistle. A tycoon rich enough to fund his own campaign, Trump has no compulsions to really align with major interest groups. Moreover, in doing away with the dog whistle, Trump has brought to the surface all the biases and prejudices of White America. The bad press he receives is often worn wit.