Indian Americans: Donald Trump is Not Your Friend

My fellow Indian Americans, I am here to warn you that Donald Trump is a threat to you, and he is certainly not your friend.  He has put your life at risk in two distinct ways: 1) by mismanaging the coronavirus pandemic, and 2) by fanning racial tensions in the country.  That, combined with his xenophobic immigration policies, makes Joe Biden the clear choice in November.

Trump’s visit to India, the welcome he gave Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the “Howdy Modi” event, and his ingratiation to the Indian American community has led many Indian Americans to consider voting for Trump in 2020.  However, Indian Americans should be skeptical of Trump’s shallow gestures, which are clearly aimed at their votes and pocketbooks.  Instead, Indian Americans should assess whether Trump has been a positive force in their day-to-day lives.

The most glaring failure of the Trump presidency is the unmitigated spread of the coronavirus across the US.  We have by far the most cases in the world.  We account for about 26% of the worldwide deaths from the coronavirus, despite the fact that the US only has about 4% of the world’s population.  In a matter of months, over 120,000 Americans have died from the coronavirus.  That is more than twice as many American deaths during the nineteen year-long Vietnam War.  Let that sink in for a moment.

As with every community in the US, Indian Americans have lost lives and livelihoods. Trump is not responsible for the virus, but his administration’s gross negligence has been at the root of the mass death and economic destruction.  He did not take the virus seriously, and even downplayed it, going so far as to say it would “miraculously” disappear one day.  According to the New York Times, this was despite multiple advisors warning him of the virus’s catastrophic potential.  Trump’s Secretary of Health and Human Services, Alex Azar, first briefed him about how serious of an impact the virus could have on January 18.  On January 29, Trump was warned by his trade advisor, Peter Navarro, that the pandemic “could cost the United States trillions of dollars and put millions of Americans at risk of illness or death.”  Yet, Mr. Trump refused to recommend social distancing measures until mid-March and started talking about re-opening the economy well before the virus could have possibly been contained.  Experts have said again and again that more testing is key to controlling the virus.  Despite this, Trump has tried to pass the buck for testing onto states.  Furthermore, at his rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Trump said that he directed his administration to slow testing down so the coronavirus numbers would not make him look bad.  His staff tried to claim he was joking, but Trump himself later admitted he was serious. 

The coronavirus is not kind to incompetent governance.  Even a country such as South Korea, which was seen as a model for containing the coronavirus, is now seeing a resurgence.  In the US no one knows what a second wave will look like given that the first wave is still ravaging our country. 

But there is more to fear from the Trump administration than incompetence.  Trump stokes hatred, and that directly impacts Indian Americans.  For example, it was reported that instances of hate violence and xenophobic rhetoric was up by 45% against South Asian, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, Middle Easterner, and Arab communities in the US – in other words against anyone who looks Indian - in just the first year of Trump’s presidency.  Twenty percent of perpetrators invoked Trump in some way.   2018 saw the number of attacks on Sikh Americans triple, and it was also the deadliest year for hate crimes since September 11, 2001.  Indian Americans continue to be a target of this hatred.  A New Mexico man named Baljit Singh found his restaurant vandalized on June 22.  There was graffiti on the wall that said, “White power,” “Trump 2020,” and “go home.”  Trump is so admired by bigots that a Ku Klux Klan newspaper is supporting him in his 2020 re-election campaign.  My friends, I have news for you: you will not be welcome in the America Donald Trump is creating. 

Then there is immigration. As early as 2017 Trump’s administration began dismantling the work-based visa system, “aggressively” denying H1B applications.  Now Trump is using the coronavirus as an excuse to freeze green cards for new immigrants and has suspended H1B visa applications until the end of the year.  Indians make up more than 70% of those on an H1B visa in the United States, so our community would be disproportionately affected.  But this has been in the works from the start of Trump’s administration – him and his supporters on Capitol Hill have continuously advocated for curbing legal immigration.  Biden on the other hand publicly states that he wants to welcome immigrants into the country.  His immigration plan says immigrants are a source of strength.  He has even recruited six Indian Americans to the Biden-Sanders unity task forces.  Who do you think really wants Indian Americans here, Biden or Trump?

Finally, do not be fooled for a moment into thinking Trump is better for US-India relations than a Democrat.  Obama made strengthening economic ties with India a priority. Trump on the other hand put tariffs on Indian goods, and his recent state visit to India failed to produce a trade deal.  The US has indeed sold some arms to India under Trump.  But that pales in comparison to the fact that Biden was Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee when the US-India civilian nuclear agreement was ratified.

Look at your own self-interest and do not fall for Trump’s show boating.  Rife with disease, unemployment, and hate, is America a better country for you and your children today than it was four years ago under the Obama administration?  Given Trump’s track record, do you really think he deserves another four years in office? 

Progressives Will Win with Biden

Dear progressives… I want to reach out to you as a moderate Democrat.  I am writing today because I need you.  Reports are that many progressives are unenthusiastic about Biden, and perhaps may not vote for him.  Perhaps that is you.  If so, please allow me to tell you something you already know: the country needs you, your voice, and your vote. I genuinely believe the opportunity for the progressive movement has never been greater. 

Since you are a progressive, I do not have to convince you that Donald Trump is bad for the country.  Like me, you are terrified for yourself and your loved ones’ health and safety as the coronavirus ravages through the nation and Trump prioritizes the stock market over the health of citizens.  Like me, you were probably horrified when peaceful protestors were dispersed with tear gas and flash grenades, violating their First Amendment rights.  Undoubtedly you were once again disappointed when Republicans looked away and even pretended to not have seen the whole thing.  You and I have a common disgust for all this.

I have to admit, as a moderate I have not always understood the progressive point of view.  I think there are a lot of moderates who need to better understand the progressive perspective and vice versa.  However, despite our differences, we are on the same team.  We believe that climate change is an existential threat, that health care is a human right, that a college education should be free, that a woman’s right to choose is sacrosanct, that there is racial injustice in the criminal justice system that must be corrected, to name only a few.  We are all concerned about the courts being packed with right wing judges and what could happen to the Supreme Court if Republicans win the White House and Senate again. We largely have the same goals, but we disagree on how to get there.  Medicare for All versus strengthening the Affordable Care Act to get to universal healthcare, for example.

The progressive movement has changed the political debate in this country, and even moderate presidential candidates adopted some progressive policies.  The obvious example is Medicare for All and free college, which of millions of voters support, and which several moderate candidates included in their platforms. 

I worked for the Pete Buttigieg campaign.  One of the policies that drew me in was free college at public colleges and universities for low- and middle-income students—a direct contribution from the 2016 Bernie Sanders campaign.  Biden would later adopt this policy.  The obvious conclusion is that the progressive movement holds great sway in the Democratic Party, and that is where, I would argue, you come in.

Progressives can continue to make an impact.  I understand you may not favor Biden, and you may even distrust him.  Perhaps you feel he has let you down in the past.  I understand that, as a moderate, it is much easier for me to be enthusiastic about Biden.  However, I would argue that there is plenty of reason for you to be excited about a Biden presidency, especially if we win both the House and the Senate.

One reason you have to be excited is that Biden has been moving to the left.  Even before becoming the presumptive nominee, he adopted signature proposals from Sanders and Warren. Furthermore, Biden has incorporated prominent Progressives into his leadership team.  Typically, a presumptive nominee moves to the center of the ideological spectrum.  Not Biden.  So, there is great potential for progressive policies to be incorporated into Biden’s agenda.  Progressives can shape the Democratic National Committee platform and influence the narrative.

Also, with Biden at the top of the ticket, down ballot Democrats have a great shot at winning the Senate with the same coalition that won the House in 2018.  Progressive proposals could become law.  And unlike in the past, progressives have a large, powerful caucus in the House, which will undoubtedly hold even a moderate Democratic president to account.  There have even been rumblings out of the campaign that Biden wants more of an FDR style presidency to heal the country after so much tumult, as opposed to his original incrementalism.  You have an opening.

What is more certain is that if Trump and Republicans win again, there will certainly be no advance in progressive policies.  The country will most certainly continue to move backwards on the environment, health care, education, race relations, and so on. 

There is only one choice right now.  A possibility of advancing progressive goals with Biden, and with Democrats controlling both houses of Congress.  Or continued degradation of our country.