TRUMPIANA: A snapshot view of the first 60 weeks of President Trump 2.0 in office
K V Prasad
New Delhi, Nov 2 (UNI) As citizens of the United States of America queue up on Tuesday for the final phase of voting to elect a new Congress, this is a collection of stand-alone pieces by Arun Kumar, a veteran journalist and seasoned observer of American politics.
Constant watch and analysis by diplomats, think tank and public policy personnel, and journalists to decipher the moves of the American administration under President Donald Trump could be underwhelming. The reason is that President Trump 2.0 is much different from how the processes worked during his first tenure.
This book comments on a work in progress documented meticulously week after week in the form of 60 opinion pieces, to understand what President Trump did, said, and how these affect the people in the United States and around the world. Its uniqueness lies in wrapping up with a liberal dose of humour.
Long time back, English dailies published in India used to have a regular column characterised as ' Middles'. The daily column contributed by both familiar and not so familiar writers brought to the readers interesting developments, either contemporary or historical, packaged in distinct styles and with one unmissable ingredient - humour.
Humour is a serious business, and only an accomplished writer with an innate ability to craft words can claim success. That readers of a website published in the United States catering to the larger Indian diaspora lap up the Trumpania writings is proof of its wide acceptance.
The book offers readers twin benefits. One, it carries them through the roller-coaster of American politics and the policy push of the administration under President Trump. Second, it is an easy-read offering a glimpse of the events that dotted America, and strung together, different developments during the first year of his second tenure.
With over 5.5 million Indian Americans there, there are many instances of how the policies have affected the diaspora, known to be among the high-earning middle-class segment. Indian Americans have, over the years, taken keener interest in politics in the country, right from the city councils to the Congress. The November 2026 elections would once again underscore this aspect.
It is natural that the weekly pieces commented on some of the developments linking India, a country that President Trump chooses to describe as led by his friend, Prime Minister Narendra Modi. As early as week five, the column noted that after closing down the funding arm USAID, which was reported to be ready to spend $ 21 million of taxpayers' money for getting out the votes in India. "This led Trump to mischievously suggest, "Why do we need to spend $21 million on voter turnout in India? I guess they were trying to get somebody else elected" - and stir a big political storm in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cup of chai", Mr Kumar writes.
On the hot-potato issue, the H1B Visas, which remains a major bone of contention for long become even more acute, With the administration hiking the fee, and adding layers of checks, and New Delhi expressing concern the move could have humanitarian consequences by way of the disruption caused for families, the author wrote: "…instead of easing up, Trump said the U.S. will impose a 100 percent tariff on imported branded drugs, - a move that would hit India hard - 25 percent tariff on imports of all heavy-duty trucks, 50 percent tariffs on kitchen cabinets and a 30 percent tariff on upholstered furniture next week.
As mentioned, through humour the writings take a rather irreverent look at politics at play in the United States, and an example of it can be found in week 40 where the author begins: "After ending eight 'unendable wars' in eight months - including one between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan that sulking friend Modi still refuses to acknowledge - the great peacemaker finally got his prize. No, not the blasted Nobel, but the Richard Nixon Foundation's Architect of Peace Award established in memory of POTUS 37, who made history in March 1972 with a groundbreaking rapprochement with Communist China. Donald Trump received the award, a statueque of Nixon, in his gilded Oval Office from Tricia Nixon Cox, daughter of the man who resigned two years later after making history of a different kind months after proclaiming "I am not a crook," in the midst of the Watergate scandal."
As the weeks move in towards November last, the shape of things to come can be savoured in the headline of week 42. Trumpiana: Shaken, not stirred! Relying on the famous James Bond dialogue, the writing was about how President Trump remained 'Unfazed by Democrats' big poll wins; the Don paints the town red, nay golden!' "POTUS wasn't shaken, maybe just a bit, but certainly not stirred by the great temblor that came rumbling down to play spoil sport on the "Happy Anniversary" of 'one of the Greatest Presidential Victories in History. But a "very stable genius," as Donald Trump fancies himself, quickly figured out what USA Today called "a 'proof of life' sweep" from New York to California for the embattled Democrats in a splash of off-year elections Trump wasn't on the ballot, and shutdown, were the two reasons that Republicans lost elections tonight, according to pollsters," he proclaimed on Truth Social in all caps, neatly absolving himself of all blame for the hurting economy.@realDonaldTrump then went on a posting frenzy on Truth Social to drown the drums of doom with 33 posts in less than three hours, offloading everything on his mind from the dawn of the Golden age to his recent meetings with Chinese and Japanese leaders to Walmart lowering the price of its Thanksgiving meal, and more.
And then towards the end - week 60 to be precise - is President Trump's announcement. "A HISTORIC $300 BILLION DOLLAR DEAL - THE BIGGEST IN U.S. HISTORY," with India's Reliance to open "THE CLEANEST REFINERY IN THE WORLD" in Brownsville, Texas."
Trumpania offers the reader a choice of picking up any of the 60 chapters anywhere and not feel detached. In a way, each chapter is a stand-alone episode, and completing it offers a crash course of policies of POTUS, an abbreviation for the President of the United States. UNI XC AAB
