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As the year draws to an end people begin to reflect upon the numerous events that took place around the globe in 2015. The Nepal Earthquake in April, the legalization of same sex-marriage in the US, the rise of the Islamic State and the exacerbation of the Syrian Refugee crisis are just some of the many events that gave rise to liberal thinking and humanitarianism among individuals across the world, and then came along an individual named Donald Trump.

Most people remember Trump as the intimidating billionaire on the hit US reality show entitled “The Apprentice” but today he is a US presidential candidate running one of the most bizarre political campaigns of our time. Whereas nearly half the world regards Trump as a joke that is likely to fade out over the next couple of months, one should not be too quick to dismiss him because the sad truth is that there are indeed a section of Americans who believe in Trump and the ideology he sells.

Donald Trump represents a portion of Americans who are fed up with the Democratic Party and the Obama Administration. One of the most successful businessmen in the world, Trump knows his audience and exactly what they want and he is the only Republican candidate who has been able to tap into the populist anger at Washington and the widespread xenophobia prevalent among the American people. Add this to the fact that Trump believes in American exceptionalism, is committed towards education, has the business acumen to help the US overcome the trillions of dollars of debt that it finds itself in and has a strong (some would say twisted) standpoint on immigration, is exactly why he has had a substantial lead in the polls for the Republican nomination for the last five months.

It is probably still too early to say what exactly will happen in 2016 but even if somehow Trump manages to win the Republican nomination, the chances of him actually becoming President of the United States are slim. Polls have long shown Hillary Clinton edging out all the Republican nominees including Trump and moreover his latest eruption demanding that Muslims be banned from entering the United States was so horrifying that many Republicans now are openly contemplating a vote for Ms. Clinton stating that Trump scares or concerns them (as he rightly should).

Trump may be giving us a good laugh at the moment, sitting on the other side of the world, but it is important to keep an eye on just how the American elections progress, after all a mad billionaire ruling the most powerful country in the world will not be a particularly amusing scenario in the near future.

Featured Image Credits: www.bbc.co.uk

Shraman Ghosh
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The country that everybody’s watching with hawk eyes goes to poll on 8th November, 2016. We give you a low down on what’s in store for you over the next year, so that you can make better sense of that international column in the papers.

The US Election System

The President of the United States is elected indirectly by the people of the country, and holds office for a period of four years.The citizens vote for an electoral college, which in turn elects the President. Each state is allowed to elect a fixed number of representatives to the Electoral College. This number is equal to the number of its representatives in the Congress, the American Legislature.

The political parties (primarily the Republicans and the Democrats), put forth their nominations for the electoral college candidates before the public. These nominations are usually done over the summer. The party also nominates a candidate who will run for President, after the candidates who wish to stand have made their ‘Presidential Convention Speech’ before the members of the party.

The citizens then vote for their candidates to the electoral college. Once the electoral college has been constituted, the people are assured a more or less clear idea of who is to be the next President for, the members of the electoral college, prior to being elected, have promised their vote to a particular party’s Presidential candidate. Depending on whether the Electoral College is predominantly Republican or Democrat, the President is almost unoffically decided even before the electoral college votes in November.

The election day, since 1845, has always been the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November and the term of the new President will begin on the following January 20th, after the elections.

Presidential Candidates, 2016

According to the Constitution of the United States, an individual can hold the office of the President of the United States for only two consecutive terms, which debars Democrat, President Barack Obama from standing for a third term. A number of Republicans and Democrats have already stated whether or not they are running for their party’s 2016 Presidential nomination. Bobby Jindal, the Governor of Louisiana, is the first Indian-American to declare his candidacy for the Republican nomination. Hillary Rodham Clinton, former Secretary of State, has announced that she is running for President on a prospective Democratic Party candidature. Business tycoon and reality television actor, Donald Trump, has also, rather controversially, declared that he will be running for the Republican nomination for President. According to public opinion polls, Trump has garnered high levels of support, with his promise to “make America great again.”

For those of us watching from the outside, the election procedure that is to unfold over the next year looks like it’s going to be an interesting spectacle.

Abhinaya Harigovind
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