Rama Krishna Sangem
In one smart move Joe Biden made Donald Trump older. At least by 19 years. Biden simply followed a logic – a big line can be turned smaller, (wittout erasing) by drawing a bigger line beside. So is the case there. To make Trump older, Biden brought a younger face – Kamala Harris – into the presidential race. Overnight, Trump is not fighting an older rival but a much younger contender.
Till a few weeks ago, Trump boasted of being younger to Biden by 3 years, so he is the rightful presidential candidate to lead America in November 2024 elections. Biden, on his part, fumbled and forgot names – at the first of the three presidential debates and at a NATO meeting, in Washington. Biden inadvertently called Volodymyr Zelenskyy as Putin. A sign of dementia?
Trump grew more and more confident of his relatively young and energetic persona, compared to Biden’s wobbly image. The assassination attempt at Pennsylvania further enhanced Trump’s popularity, because of his rising with a raised fist just seconds after the gunshots. Trump campaign has got an ammunition to tell people that – look, we need a leader like this, not an oldie Biden!
A popular meme that “the bullet hit Trump, but killed Biden” gone viral. So came the appeals from Democrats that Biden should step aside from the race and allow someone to take on Trump. Bill and Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi and others led the campaign. Biden analysed his own campaign’s surveys and found that his chances of beating Trump are slim. The gap was 7- 8 per cent on an average.
He took not just the final call to withdraw from the race but also quickly and cleverly endorsed Kamala Harris as his replacement. Harris, just 59, within no time got many endorsements from leading Democrats, including the towering figures – Barack Obama and Michelle Obama. The clinched the presidential deal for Harris. Her official nomination at Democratic National Convention in Chicago from August 19-22, is just a formality.
Ticks right many boxes
Kamala Harris ticks right many boxes, more than that of Trump now. She is younger – at 59 years of age, origins with Indian and African and finally a woman! Being a sitting Vice-President of the US, she doesn’t need any introduction to Americans. She is not new to the power corridors and the powerful forces that pull the strings in the presidential election to be held on November 4.
She decision to enter TikTok has caught the imagination of younger generation Americans. Those who talk of Make America Great Again (MAGA) obviously Trump supporters, were countered by a youthful slogan of Make America Laugh Again (MALA). Or KA-Mala? We all know that American society cannot bear with too much of seriousness – for which Trump is the poster boy.
He never smiles. For the last four years, since he lost the 2020 presidential election, Trump has been pumping an image of serious defender of the US, which is on the brink of collapse, if Democrats win again. He has been predicting all the more gloomy scenario – where all migrants, the jailed prisoners – including rapists, criminals and thugs – will roam around streets of America, if he loses the election.
Americans know well that these apocalyptic prophesies are exaggerated, if not baseless. Kamala Harris has been inching towards overtaking Trump in opinion polls – by 47-48 percentage points. She is getting good amount of funds, to match that of Trump. Trump is unable to digest her growing popularity. He calls her Ka-Maala, to stress that she is a foreign origin candidate. Of course, he will do all these things, but can’t say she is older to him!
