The Independent: Trump reminds us of Saddam Hussein
Shafaq News / "The Independent" considered that the Republican's political speeches represented a poisonous tone from American nationalism that inflames acts of violence and myths of superiority.
In an article published today, the newspaper mentioned that the Republican's convention, "in its cult-like obeisance to the supreme leader it reminds me of meetings of the Iraqi Baath Party that periodically endorsed Saddam Hussein as the national savior".
The newspaper added, "The only speeches acceptable in both cases were dollops of fawning praise. Speakers outdid each other in adulation, pretending that shambolic failures were triumphant successes. Trump’s calamitous inability to cope with the coronavirus pandemic, leading to the death of 180,000 Americans, was ignored".
The newspaper said that thirty years ago, Saddam Hussein likewise informed wildly applauding Baathists that the “mother of battles” in Kuwait had been a splendid Iraqi victory.
"The Iraqi Baath Party was an Arab nationalist party and the Republican Party could well be renamed the American Nationalist Party. In each case, anybody whose loyalty to the leader was suspect has mostly been purged and replaced with flunkies and members of the leader’s family", the newspaper added.
"Trump now faces some of the same problems as the late Iraqi leader and is coming up with some of the same answers".
The newspaper explained", How, for instance, do you get away with describing a self-inflicted defeat as a glorious victory? The autocrat’s playbook is similar in both cases: the supreme leader simply lies and brazenly claims a world-beating success, while blaming foreigners and domestic foes for anything that went wrong. “When the China virus invaded our country, we launched the greatest mobilization of American society since World War Two,” said Mr. Trump as the convention got underway".
