My Trump Saga

I believe it was around the mid-2000s that Donald Trump, still known more as a media personality than a politician, began making strong remarks about Barack Obama. He didn’t let the whole “birth certificate” controversy slide. Later, after Obama’s re-election in 2012, there came that famous White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Obama, with his characteristic humor, took a sharp jibe at Trump. He teased that if Trump ever ran for president and won, he might turn the White House into a casino and the state dinner into a beauty pageant. Trump’s face that night revealed how little he enjoyed the mockery. Many believe that incident sowed the seed of his eventual candidacy.

When he launched his campaign in 2015, even Trump himself didn’t seem entirely serious at first. But he was genuinely surprised by the traction he got. He leaned on his reality-TV instincts and stage presence, and it worked. In the debates, Hillary Clinton and others underestimated him, while he kept scoring in the background. A few of her own missteps sealed the story. The result was one of the most closely fought and shocking elections in recent U.S. history, with Trump winning the White House.

In his first term (2017–2021), I think he was neither entirely good nor entirely bad. But his loss to Joe Biden in 2020 seemed to open his eyes to the true depth of the power he once held. That defeat hardened his resolve. By the time the 2024 race came, Trump ran a sharply negative campaign—and Biden, in some ways, helped him. After surviving an assassination attempt, Trump’s support only grew, and his victory became almost certain.

Now, in his second term, Trump feels like a wounded tiger let loose again—different, fiercer, and perhaps more dangerous. He seems out for blood this time.

For reasons only he knows, he appears fixated on the Nobel Peace Prize. Maybe it’s the thought: “Obama has one, why shouldn’t I?” Or maybe it’s something deeper. I really don’t know.

His tariff agenda is also despised by many. In my understanding, a large part of those costs will eventually land on American consumers. It’s not a short-term win; it’s a gamble meant for the long run. But if his successors “chicken out” and roll back the policy—as Trump himself has been known to do—the entire strategy could collapse. And if a recession strikes the U.S. in the next couple of years, the tariff gamble might prove disastrous.

What the future holds, none of us can say. My humble understanding of Gandhian philosophy is that the strong have a duty to care for the weak, to make them feel secure in the relationship. But Trump, who mocks and bullies even his allies, ironically sets his eyes on a Nobel Peace Prize.

Nations with longer historical memory—China, India, the European Union—know how to handle a bully. China is already playing its cards by curbing the export of rare earth metals, a market it largely controls. India may one day wield its leverage with IT services and pharmaceuticals. The Europeans? Well, they might just play with the Nobel Prize itself 🙂.

How all of this unfolds in the coming years remains to be seen. Life is at full throttle in its uncertainty. Best we can do is remain calm, attentive, and balanced as we ride this swirl.

Created by: Sudharsan Pandiyan 

Fact checked and edited by: ChatGPT