Donald Trump is everywhere. A year to go for the 2016 United States Presidential elections, the real estate magnate is the frontrunner for the Republican Party’s nomination.
Not only in the US, but the controversial candidate is even on the minds of young Indians who, while interacting with American State legislators here on Monday, wanted to know about Mr. Trump’s lead.
At an outreach session organised by the American Embassy, Senator Ellen Roberts of Colorado and Representative Paul Thissen of Minnesota explained to a group of students the complex process of electing the President in their country.
Though the students wanted to know about “serious” issues like campaign finance reforms, redistricting and the electoral college in the US, questions about Mr. Trump and Democratic Party’s frontrunner Hillary Clinton were almost inevitable.
Mr. Trump’s remarks about immigration and his plan to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border had the students interested. Ms. Roberts, a Republican, said it was “discouraging” to see Mr. Trump leading in polls to get her party’s ticket for 2016.
“As a Republican, it is hard to see him as the frontrunner. Mr. Trump is riding a wave of enthusiasm; it is a wave of protest. He’s saying such outrageous things, but people are identifying with it,” said Ms. Roberts.
On Ms. Clinton, a student asked Mr. Thissen, a Democrat, about a recent tweet that stirred some debate on women’s rights in China. While talking about the transformative effect of social media on politics, Mr. Thissen inadvertently referred to Ms. Clinton as “President Clinton”, leading to loud laughter around the room.
“Wishful thinking,” quipped Mr. Thissen.
Meanwhile, the session gave the students an opportunity to learn about different types of elections. Brij Pahwa, the convenor of the Delhi chapter of Youth Forum on Foreign Policy (YFFP), which organised the event, said the discussion left the students with a good understanding of American polls.
“The electoral system in the US is very different and quite complicated compared to ours in India. But, the issues of electoral reform, especially funding, are important here too,” said Mr. Pahwa.
Students from DU, JNU and IIT participated in the event. Mrittika Nandy, an MPhil student at Jawaharlal Nehru University and YFFP research associate, said there was a need to understand how other countries conduct their elections.
“The US elections are the most watched, thanks to television channels and the social media, so students here have an interest,” she said.
The US State legislators started their seven-day India visit in Delhi on Monday, and will also travel to Hyderabad.
