If everybody hates Trump, how is he winning?
"I am a journalist, Mr Trump. And over the last two years I have conducted extensive interviews with hundreds of Muslims, chosen at random, on the streets of Iran, Iraq and Pakistan. I've also interviewed hundreds of Syrian and Iraqi refugees across seven different continents. And I can confirm - the hateful one is you," wrote Humans of New York creator Brandon Stanton on Facebook.
Taking on the Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, Stanton said, "I've watched you retweet racist images. I've watched you retweet racist lies. I've watched you take 48 hours to disavow white supremacy. I've watched you joyfully encourage violence, and promise to 'pay the legal fees' of those who commit violence on your behalf. I've watched you advocate the use of torture and the murder of terrorists' families. I've watched you gleefully tell stories of executing Muslims with bullets dipped in pig blood. I've watched you compare refugees to 'snakes' and claim that Islam hates us."
Dominant performance despite criticism
The scathing criticism from a Facebook photo blog with over 10 million likes couldn't prevent Trump from registering a fresh round of victories in the Republican primary on Tuesday. The chairman of The Trump Foundation, who has previously made pro-wrestling appearances, won in Florida, Illinois, Missouri and North Carolina.
In fact in Florida, Trump beat sitting senator Marco Rubio forcing him to call off his presidential campaign. However, Ohio governor John Kasich somehow managed to withstand the tsunami unleashed by Trump. Kasich's victory enabled him to win 66 delegates that were up for grabs in his home state of Ohio.
For now the Republican race is still alive. But there is no denying the fact that Trump remains the hot favourite after having amassed over 600 delegates during the primaries held so far.
The media is to blame?
Many have blamed the media for having provided Donald Trump with disproportionate press coverage thereby inflating his chances of becoming the presidential nominee. But media coverage of Trump cannot be only evaluated in terms of time. What we've got to realise is that Trump has indeed got a lot of coverage but it is not really positive.
Some of the most credible, powerful media outlets in the United States have taken a tough stand against the venom spewing campaign of Donald Trump. On March 14, an editorial published in The New York Times said, "Mr. Trump's calls to violence are the sickest part of the con that is his presidential campaign. Yes, some people who attend his rallies are bigots; others are simply upset with a nation, or a life, that's dealt them a bad hand."
The iconic newspaper, nicknamed as "The Gray Lady", added that Trump does not have a "single solid, truthful idea about how to address the roots of this seething anger. He is basking in the energy created by turning one American against another, hoping hatred will propel him to the Republican nomination.
Talking about Trump, The Wall Street Journal which happens to be the most circulated newspaper in the United States wrote that "he may be right in that short-term political calculation, but the cost could be very high if he wins the nomination. Americans want a President they can respect, not one who is a constant source of turmoil."
Add to that The Huffington Post's proclamation about Trump which says, "Donald Trump is a serial liar, rampant xenophobe, racist, misogynist, birther and bully who has repeatedly pledged to ban all Muslims - 1.6 billion members of an entire region from entering the US."
Where do the political leaders stand?
US president Barack Obama has emphasised that Donald Trump "will not be president" and that's because he has a "lot of faith in the American people." Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, who is well on her way to clinch the Democratic nomination, has also said that "we will not let a person like that ever become President of the United States."
Not only Democrats, even Republicans have expressed their reservations in relation to a Trump presidency. Mitt Romney, who was the Republican nominee in the 2012 presidential elections, recently attacked Trump by describing him as "phony" and "fraud". According to Romney, "His (Trump's) promises are as worthless as a degree from Trump university." Predictably, Trump responded by calling Romney a "failed candidate."
Fortunately for Trump, he has received endorsements from New Jersey governor Chris Christie and Ben Carson. Both men were earlier competing against Trump for the Republican nomination. While Christie has vowed to lend his support "between now and November in any way for Donald," Carson projected Trump as "the will of the people." Trump has also received support from the unlikeliest ally in the form of Russian president Vladimir Putin who termed him as a "colourful" and "talented" man.
Who is really supporting Trump?
At the end of the day it's not the media or political leaders who decide the outcome of elections. It's the people. Among those who support Trump are Indian-Americans who are homophobic and reject the notion of women having control over their bodies. Speaking to NDTV, Trump supporter Dr Sudhir Parikh said that "our family values are the same as what the Republican Party is talking about, against abortion and same-sex relationships."
No doubt Parikh must be incredibly happy about the Indian Parliament not allowing Shashi Tharoor's Bill seeking to de-criminalise homosexuality. And if America embarks on an entirely anti-abortion stand then a day will come when America will have many of its own Savita Halappanavars. Savita was a 31-year-old dentist who died in Ireland because the country's laws didn't allow her to abort despite facing health risks.
Trump's propaganda has been bought over by some Muslims too. Time Magazine spoke to Trump's Muslim supporters who actually think that stopping Muslims from entering America would solve terrorism whereas in reality it would lead to a huge backlash which would ultimately feed into the narrative of extremists and fuel radicalisation.
Omar Alkadri, a 52-year-old Muslim, is a Trump supporter. He's voting for Trump and believes that "Trump doesn't mean it when he says he wants to build a wall along Mexico." Alkadri terms Trump's rhetoric "just a little bit of entertainment and fashion" which "American fanatics like to hear."
America cannot afford to have a president who says the kind of things that Trump has. Even if he does not believe in them then too it is incorrect on his part to utilise such divisive language to grab eyeballs, fill stadiums and get votes. It's morally and ethically wrong. Nobody knows what Trump would say and do if he assumes charge of the Oval Office. He's an irresponsible person and that's precisely why people like Alkadri shouldn't dwell in a delusionary world and stop supporting Trump.
There must be thousands of Trump supporters across the United States including white supremacists and college dropouts. While we do not know why each of them supports Trump, we do know that they are loyalists. A 71-year-old woman told The New York Times that "nothing short of Trump shooting my daughter in the street and my grandchildren" would prevent her from voting for Trump.
If that's the spirit and level of fanaticism of Trump's supporters then it is going to take a lot of effort to thwart his rise.