US Presidential Election

On the left, Donald Trump’s popularity has continued to grow. Why? Because he has strengthened the country’s economy, ended unemployment, and improved the quality of life for people — and that is all the average American wants. They have no special interest in international affairs. Whether or not the U.S. is the world’s police officer, or whether or not it is a superpower is not their priority. They are fans of a comfortable life and they are happy with that. Trump has strengthened immigration laws and as a result, has been able to provide more jobs to Americans. This has given white people a sense of racial superiority. The wall has mostly prevented Mexicans from entering the country who worked for low wages and as such took away the jobs that Americans were entitled to.

Now there is a feeling of: “It was not this, but I did wish for it to be this.”* This pandemic has not only shaken the world at large, but it has also shaken “Trump the Brave’s” throne.

With just a few months until the election, defeat has not only begun stalking the White House, but it has begun to knock on its doors. It has been difficult to come up with a solution. Why? Mishandling and Misreading Situations** says that success has many fathers, but failure is an orphan. When the first American died due to the pandemic, Trump gave the impression during his news conference that it was imminent that the United States will overcome this pandemic. This is not the reason Americans are dying, even though the pandemic has shaken the whole country. In a single day, not as many people die in Europe as in the United States. “His hand is neither on the reins nor is his foot in the stirrup.”*** Trump looks helpless at his news conferences. In frustration, sometimes he gets confused by the press and sometimes he insults his advisers. 15 million people have become unemployed. The economy has come to a standstill. The contradiction is that one day he blames China and the next day he denies it. He has said that China prepared this virus in a lab to kill him, which China has denied. He didn’t stop there as he then blamed the World Health Organization for withholding funding. As a result, the agency had to make a statement saying Trump’s allegations had no truth to them!

While Joe Biden is not an ideal candidate, circumstances have given him a historic opportunity. Do you see how much he will benefit from it? Trump seems to be losing the election, but he still has a card he could play. He could go to the Supreme Court and argue that it is not constitutional to hold an election in the current circumstances of the coronavirus. The primaries haven’t even been completed yet. Without fulfilling the legal requirements, the election would be unconstitutional. He has a lot of supporters in the Supreme Court, but no court can take such a big step independently and it may be the case that Trump does not do it himself either. Of course, 300 million Americans will not allow it.

Until then, the situation seems to be deteriorating.

*Translator’s Note: The author is making reference to a poem by Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Pakistani Muslim Marxist poet and Urdu author entitled, “مجھ سے پہلی سی محبت مری محبوب نہ مانگ.” He likely chose this line to reference that even in the midst of disease (COVID-19), there is still a desire for the normal things (jobs to stay in America, etc.) but the disease is overpowering and people have to let go of their old desires because there is a new status quo.

**Editor’s Note: This is presumed to be a publication in which the author found the quote that follows, however this could not be verified.

***Translator’s Note: The author is making reference to a poem by Mirza Ghalib, a prominent Urdu and Persian poet entitled “کل کے لیے کر آج نہ خست شراب میں.” The line is clearly saying that the world is “running” and things are happening and Trump is not doing anything about it. Though it could be argued that the original intent of the poem was to say he couldn't do anything about it.