What if Donald Trump were President of America?
Can he just brashly say, “America go to Hell; EU go to Purgatory” and it won’t move them? There are no ninny hysterics from the big boys.
Perhaps the reason why President Rodrigo Duterte is not minded too much for his uncouth rhetoric is that he comes bellowing at a time when the eco-political giants whom he challenges are busy with internal administrative details and concerns like: in the US, who will be President, Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump? And the EU is still re-grouping and reassessing “Brexit” and life without the UK. Shrewd timing for the little fellow’s chest-thumping.
But what happens when the reality show ushers in a new season, when present cameo personalities become formidable characters, legitimized in their positions — what if Donald Trump were President of America?
First of all, the possibility ( though presently considered
more likely in surveys) of Hillary Clinton being the next US President is hereby not analyzed because it can logically be assumed that as a Democrat, she will basically continue the programs of two- termer coDemocrat Barack Obama.
However, The Donald has bared the level of his regard for Filipinos and Fil-Americans. Columnist Roberto Romulo, he of the Romulo family of foreign relations statesmen, heated up to call Trump “America’s worst nightmare” when Trump called Filipinos among others “terrorists and animals” in a campaign speech referring to illegal immigrants in the US — whom
he vowed to ban and deport soon as he became president ( The Philippine Star, 08.12.2016). Duterte supporter Rep. Joey Salceda proposed legislation to ban Trump from the Philippines, but this proposal did not prosper ( Washington Post, 08.08.2016). According to GMA News, Salceda said the “ugliness of utterances, largely unprompted and undeserved,” by Trump stood in contrast to the warm welcome he had received from the Philippines when launching the Trump Tower Manila (Ibid.) Talk about ugly. If you can dish it out, you must be able to take it too, they say.
There are an estimated four million Filipino- descent citizens
or immigrants, legal and illegal in the US ( CNN Philippines, 11.04.2016). Fil-Am Vote organizers say there are about 2.8 million potential Filipino American voters, based on the latest US census ( balitang america. tv, 03.01.2016). They could be the swing vote in the US elections Nov. 8, with at least 65% voting Democrat, as they did in the 2012 elections that made Obama win ( Ibid.). But are the Fil-Am voters even insulted by Trump’s insults on the Filipino people that closer to 100% will vote for Hillary? In an op-ed article in the Asian
Journal (Gel Santos Relos: “Fil--
Am Republicans defend Donald Trump on his plan to ban immigration of Filipinos to America”) one Filipino-American said: “His words were taken out of context, he did not mean ban Filipinos from the US — he just wants a stricter vetting process for immigrants,” a defender said (Ibid.). “Taken out of context” is an often-used excuse of Duterte aides for his impulsive statements, as they clean the mess after him.
But was Duterte “taken out of context” when, on his state visit to China, he said to thunderous applause: “I will be dependent on you. Your honors, in this venue, I announce my separation from the United States… both in military, but also economics,” ( latimes.
com, 10.20.2016). Duterte’s unilateral separation from the US conveniently slides into what Donald Trump wants, if he were President of the US. The less to do with terrorist animals, the better. I like this guy Duterte, he may even say. We talk the talk, the way we want to talk. Worrying times. n