In Trump’s transactional world no group, not even the perceived ‘model minority,’ is immune from the fallout of his unpredictable policies
It’s not Elon Musk’s early frustrations with President Donald Trump handing over the crucial project to build America’s AI (Artificial Intelligence) infrastructure to rival Sam Altman-led ‘Stargate’, that ought to worry us, but the fate of fellow Trumpeteer, Vivek Ramaswamy, that rings closer home. During the campaign trail, the racist Trump was busy mocking minority ethnicities and religions, the Indian-American Desis, seemed smug in assuming that somehow, they were a cut above the other minorities. The purported personal equation between Trump and the Indian Prime Minister was bandied as proof of the special treatment, that awaited India and Indians.
Names of a few Indian-Americans in the new Trump administration (especially of Vivek Ramaswamy in the Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE) were showcased as proofs of Trump’s affection for the world’s largest democracy. The lazy and simplistic assumption was that he’d be tough on the likes of China and Pakistan, hence pro-India.
But the cold reality of dealing with the unpredictable politics of Trump hit much earlier than even anticipated by commentators who had been warning of Trump’s ascendancy, despite many shortcomings of the Democrats under Joe Biden. For starters, Chinese President Xi Jinping got an invite to attend the swearing-in of President Trump, but the Indian Prime Minister didn’t.
Soon thereafter Trump kept peppering his Make-America-Great-Again (MAGA) spiel with threats of tariff spikes against traditional allies like Canada, Denmark, Mexico etc., (including naming India) but recently suggested that he’d ‘rather not’ impose tariffs against China – this after promising up to 60% tariffs against China during the campaign! He flipped. Soon thereafter, the Indian-American community was hit the hardest of all immigrant communities by the direct implications of the executive order ending birthright citizenship.
Chances for many Indians working under H-1B (work), H-4 (dependent), L (intra-company transfer) and F (student) got jeopardized, as amongst the largest and fastest-growing immigrant groups in the US. With all assumed equations besetting Washington DC and Delhi, it seems fait accompli with little scope for Delhi to counter-influence a policy measure, that impacts it, more than anyone else. Such radical disruptions were certainly not the norm in the Biden era.
The supposed leverage of a voluble Vivek Ramaswamy with a Trump also seems to have come a cropper, given the mystery surrounding Vivek’s sudden decision to leave DOGE. Having invested a lot of personal stake, content, and pride, in supporting the Trump ascendancy to power (clearly prematurely?), Vivek is at pains to deny that his ouster has anything to do with him having defended the immigration position after calling some, ‘lazy Americans’.
To add insult to injury of being forced into grandstanding, a journalist has just released a video of Vivek’s text confirming his departure from Trump, due to the same.
The ostensible bid for Ohio Governorship (if true?) is an afterthought and wasn’t the intention, even a week earlier. That for a Trump, anyone is completely dispensable once a purpose has been served, be it an individual, cause, country, or even a supportive Indian-American like Vivek, seems true. Anyone can be thrown under the bus, irrespective of their ethnicity or personal chemistry.A telling tweet by Vivek on 26th Dec 2024 captures his nuanced position on the contentious immigration issue (as wishfully believed by many Indian-Americans to be the first amongst the equals within minorities, owing to our unique culture and work ethics). He had commented, “The reason top tech companies often hire foreign-born & first-generation engineers over “native” Americans isn’t because of an innate American IQ deficit (a lazy & wrong explanation). A key part of it comes down to the c-word: culture”.
The underlying suggestion is that Indians do not suffer from the supposed ‘Wokeism’ of the Democrats as Indians do not have “a culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math olympiad champ, or the jock over the valedictorian”, hence would escape the prying eyes of a Trump targeting immigrants. While it is true that Trump has spoken about the logic of ‘meritocracy’ in extending citizenship – it is equally true that in applying his power of potential misuse, he hasn’t spared or protected the interests of the Indian-American community which did tick most of the qualifying boxes defined by Trump.
The hard truth is that Trump has no special affinity or even intention of any preferential treatment to Indian Americans or India if his conduct in the initial few days of his Presidency is anything to go by.The fact is, the one-time star of the TV series ‘Apprentice’ is more famous for his heartless line “You’re fired” than for any historical demonstration of empathetic leadership. Ultimately, it is a lesson that Vivek Ramaswamy or even Elon Musk will wake up to, as in the indifferent and transactional worldview of a Trump, topical relevance is all that matters to the author of the ‘Art of Deal’ (that too, ghostwritten). Those eagerly waiting for a decisive and assertive POTUSA in Trump who would do wonders for India, need to brace for some discomforting reality check. Biden had limitations and undeniable failings, but he wasn’t a bull in a China shop or necessarily anti-India, ever. With Trump, you never know, as Indians or India don’t seem anything special, at least for now.
(The writer, a military veteran, is a former Lt Governor of Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Puducherry. The views expressed are personal)
