President Donald Trump may no longer be in the White House, but his influence is unlikely to disappear anytime soon. As for relations with India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has an extraordinary capability to forge personal bond with key world leaders with a view to promoting India’s national interests. He did that with President Obama, President Trump and now he can do so with Joe Biden, presumably the next US President

Although it will take a few weeks for a formal declaration of results of the November 2020 presidential election in the United States, the results and lead reported so far make it quite clear that there will be a change of guard in the White House.

On January 20, 2021, as the new President, presumably Joe Biden, takes oath as the next President of the United States, a post-Trump era will dawn with substantial challenges for the American people and even for the world.

This election was contested in the midst of a global Covid-19 pandemic that hit the American people the hardest in terms of lives lost, livelihood in jeopardy and health security in absolute red zone. Yet the voters’ turnout was the highest in more than a century. Physical security of people, economic security of the nation, and Americas standing in the world were all in stake.

Analysts had begun to ponder whether the Trump era in the country’s history would be an aberration or a new trend. But the fact that about four more million people voted for Donald Trump in 2020 than they did in 2016 speaks volume of the post-Trump phase of events in the US even if a Democratic candidate assumes office in the White House. The race has been very close and Trump supporters have proved all poll survey results wrong the way it did in 2016.

Significantly, a new presidency without adequate support in the US Congress is bound to face political hurdles in achieving the policy objectives. The pious intentions of uniting the country, preserving the American values and giving a healing touch to the nation may prove to be a Herculean task.

Today’s America is less white and much younger with changing values of Generation Z. The role of the Baby Boomers and Generation X has declined and role of the Millennials and Generation Z is becoming increasingly prominent.

There is notable demographic shift in the society and the political dynamics have changed with people of colour and minorities being more conscious of their rights and political role. Donald Trump’s immigration policy, attitude towards racism, views on the white supremacists, the Black-Lives-Matter movement with supports from a large number of white population are all indicative of an America that is divided.

The priority of the next American President will, of course, be providing a healing touch to the bruised and wounded society in an utterly divided nation. But how? It is not going to be easy. President Trump may no longer be in the White House, but his influence is unlikely to disappear anytime soon. Sooner the Republican Party is able to discover a more temperate, tolerant, classy and compassionate leadership better it would be for the country to face the shifting reality of a changing demography and settle down with a new societal consensus.

The next US Administration will also have to ensure health security, improve economic wellbeing of the masses and promote racial equity. In all these, the role of the Indian-American community is going to be crucial. And this is where the roots of the socio-economic connection between India and the United States can be located.

The Indian-American community has of late provided the strong social bridge between the two countries and the political and the economic role of this community in the US are critical to sustaining the momentum of India-US strategic partnership. This is a complex connection and it cannot be explained in plain language. But it needs emphasis that the Indian Government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has successfully engaged the Indian-American community in a manner that serves the interests of India as well as the United States.

Detractors would likely spread their discourse that Prime Minister Modi through the Indian-American community endorsed President Donald Trump in an election year and thus Joe Biden may play hardball with India. They may also draw attention to Pakistan bestowing “Hilal-e-Pakistan” on Joe Biden in 2008 and thus argue that a Biden presidency may be friendlier with a Pakistani Government.

The reality is quite different. First, Prime Minister Modi had gone to America to bolster India’s ties with that country and sought to impress upon the President the role of a vast number of Indian-Americans in promoting American society and economy. He would have done the same thing in the Houston rally or Ahmedabad roadshow, had it been a different person in the White House.

Reasoning that Biden’s policy towards Pakistan will be influenced by an award he received about 12 years ago is likewise untenable and fallacious. After all, Biden was the Vice President when Osama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan!

Significantly, India-US strategic partnership began to take shape since President Bill Clinton’s path-breaking trip to India in March 2000 and signing of a Vision Statement with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. It is that partnership envisioned by an American President and an Indian Prime Minister about 20 years ago that has borne fruit today and India-US relationship has never been better than what it is today.

Twelve years of Republican Administration since end of Bill Clinton’s Democratic Administration have not erected any barriers to America’s strategic partnership with India. Eight years of Obama Administration and now next four years of Biden Administration cannot but further strengthen the US-Indian ties.

It was President Clinton who established a strategic partnership with India not long after India went nuclear. It was President George W Bush who signed the 123 Agreement to bolster India-US civil nuclear cooperation. It was President Obama who considered India a “lynchpin” of his “Asia Rebalancing” strategy and it was President Trump who made India a key anchor of his “India-Pacific” strategy. It was the Obama Administration who started the Defence Dialogue between the Pentagon and the Ministry of Defence. It was President Trump who expanded it into 2+2 dialogue to include the State Department and Ministry of External Affairs. What else example can be given to underscore the robust bipartisan support in the US for having a strategic partnership with India!

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has an extraordinary capability to forge personal bond with key world leaders with a view to promoting India’s national interests. He did that with President Obama, President Trump and now he can do so with Joe Biden, presumably the next US President.

(The writer, Prof Chintamani Mahapatra, an expert on US studies, is presently Rector, JNU, New Delhi)