What if Trump triumphs!

After Donald Trump’s proposed ban on Muslims from entering the US, he has lost business associates and his businesses, at a rate faster than you could say “TRUMP”. 

In several countries, his business billboards and hoardings have been taken down. His products have been pulled off the market. His controversial statement evoked outrage from many corners of the world. His comments were widely criticized, prompting many people to respond in anger. 

Describing Trump’s speech as “hateful”, Mark Zuckerberg spoke out in open support of Muslims, saying “If you’re a Muslim in this community, as the leader of Facebook I want you to know that you are always welcome here and that we will fight to protect your rights and create a peaceful and safe environment for you.”

Close on his heels, followed Google’s Sundar Pichai vouching his support for Muslims, saying "open-mindedness, tolerance and acceptance of new Americans is one of the country's greatest strengths and most defining characteristics. And that is no coincidence - America, after all, was and is a country of immigrants". 

Surprisingly, response to Sundar Pichai's statement has been quite subdued in India. In fact there were scattered murmurs of criticism and abuse in the cyberspace. As usual, the self appointed tour operators advised him to go to Pakistan. Some were even offering additional options like Syria, Iran, Iraq, and other such places. It is ironical that just a few months ago Indians went gaga over his appointment at Google. It is such a hypocrisy how the Indian psyche has changed in recent times.

Donald Trump’s extremely aggressive stance is making his own party chiefs very uncomfortable and worried. They fear that his hate speeches could have a backlash on their party at the elections. Even with the mounting criticism, Trump vowed never to leave the presidential race.

So, here is my question. Will Trump triumph in the US presidential elections? My feeling is, a section of the Americans may be swayed by his speeches and his revolutionary promises and may even vote for him. But I doubt very much that he would be elected as POTUS. 

From his speeches and statements in the press, Donald Trump comes across to me as arrogant and rash. More than that, his rhetoric of hatred and xenophobia is a serious cause for concern. It rings alarm bells!

On the other hand, if George Bush could win and even get reelected, why not Trump! Many experts even say that Trump is not only a viable candidate, but according to GOP polls  his lead has been increasing by the day. It has been also reported that since his hate speech, donations have been pouring in to his campaign coffers. With this kind of support, it is very likely that he will be one of the front runners.

One of the hot topics trending on the social media and discussion forums is, assuming Trump gets elected, will it work out for good or bad for US and the world in general. If bad, how worse could it get. 

It is possible that things may work out for the better. But in the worst of worst case scenario, here is what I imagine could happen, if he really means all that he is saying he would do if elected: 

Closer to home, the American society may get divided and torn apart in strife like never before. With more lenient gun control laws, the states may start looking like the “wild wild west”.

On the international front, with his continued hateful and xenophobic attitude, he may upset many nations, including some of the allies of US. Many of them could even get alienated. Relationship between the US and Russia may deteriorate to such an extent, that the world may see a "rewind" to the cold war era with many more players taking sides, with much worse implications. There could be many conflicts between a new divided world order, with devastating consequences, leading to global socioeconomic and political crisis. There could even be the possibility of a depression, this time much worse than the Great Depression of the 30’s.

On the brighter side, I don't reckon there would be a third world war. I don’t think anyone would be foolish enough to think that they can nuke a country and not feel the ripple effect of annihilation. No, I don’t think anyone would want to risk such a situation.

                                                                    *****