Trump’s 15 minutes of fame about to end

“America’s present need is not heroics, but healing; not nostrums, but normalcy; not revolution, but restoration; not agitation, but adjustment; not surgery, but serenity; not the dramatic, but the dispassionate; not experiment, but equipoise; not submergence in internationality, but sustainment in triumphant nationality.” – US President, William J Harding.

Where are we in Andy Warhol’s famous comment of “15 minutes of fame” for Donald Trump?

Yesterday’s sound-bite:

"Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on," a campaign press release said.

"Without looking at the various polling data, it is obvious to anybody the hatred is beyond comprehension. Where this hatred comes from and why we will have to determine," Trump said in a statement.

"Until we are able to determine and understand this problem and the dangerous threat it poses, our country cannot be the victims of horrendous attacks by people that believe only in jihad, and have no sense of reason or respect for human life."

As an American in Malaysia, let me first apologise, as most Americans are God-fearing, good people.

Most friends in Malasyia have not asked me to explain his comments in a context, but have provided “good natured ribbing”, flushing out points like, “is US, the world’s most respected and modeled democracy, becoming a banana republic?”

He is making me appreciate Hillary Clinton!

He is making me appreciate Fox News’ Sean Hannity!

He is making me appreciate the IQ of a bag of plankton! Sorry, plankton!

For Muslims living in America, we now have a better understanding of how the Japanese people must have felt during the internment around World War 2 in US.

Does Trump understand

I am not sure Trump understands the consequences of race baiting, religious inflammatory, xenophobic, anti-immigration comments (recall his comments on Mexicans) for poll ratings and relevance in the accommodating media.

Surely, one cannot become a Republican (Tea) party nominee based on fear mongering as a central policy.

Inflammatory words rising to the level “verbal assault”, possibly citing hysteria and paranoia, and probably violating laws.

Daesh (Isis) can suspend spending for fund raising and recruitment drive. I wonder if Trump thought through about the collateral consequences to Isis PR campaigns?

In talking to American friends working and living in Muslim countries, they now have a certain anxiety because of his words.

Will the locals look at them differently? Probably not.

I wonder if Trump thought about the collateral consequences to US citizens beyond the US shores.

I wonder how some US contractors, vying for projects in Muslim countries, will be treated?

I wonder if Trump thought about the collateral consequences to US business interests.

I wonder how some Muslim countries will react to his comments for US citizens entering their countries?

I wonder if Trump thought about the collateral consequences to US citizen travel?

I believe that Muslim country leaders, say, what you want about some of them and their policies, will not be scrapping the bottom of the political barrel with tit-for-tat strategy.

I wonder how Trump’s business in Muslim countries will be affected?

What about the people employed linked to Trump's businesses?

I wonder if he understands the brand damage to the Trump name that his father worked so hard to attain.

I wonder if Trump thought about the collateral consequences to his business in Muslim countries.

I wonder, assuming worst case scenario he (gulp) is elected President, and is at G20 summits, where Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Turkey are members, how seriously will US be taken.

What about at United Nations General Assembly? I wonder if Trump thought through about the collateral consequences to US international diplomacy. Might does not make right!

I hope this is one of those jet-lagged induced sleep, and when I awake, Trump will be back on his terminated reality show, “The Apprentice”, and the contestants fire him.

I end from a quote from a US President:

“The founding of our Nation was more than a political event; it was an act of faith, a promise to Americans and to the entire world. The Declaration of Independence declared that people can govern themselves, that they can live in freedom with equal rights, that they can respect the rights of others.” – Gerald Ford. – December 11, 2015.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.