Imran Khan & PTI: A need to reset the agenda.

Over twenty years back Imran Khan, two of his friends and myself were engrossed in a discussion on the future of Pakistan in my hotel room in Dubai. Imran was dropping hints that in a couple of days he would announce entering the political arena. I recall telling him then that would it not be better than become the 'Ralph Nader' of Pakistan, like a non political force bringing the government of the time to task of its performance or the lack of it. Late that night he took the flight to Pakistan and within days announced his entry into politics.

I have always said that if one attribute that stood out with Imran it has been his honesty, knowing full well that he accounted for every penny raised for his cancer hospital. I also felt that he was good at inspiring people in his team and yet the challenge would be running a country is radically different from running a country. The past two decades have evolved Imran Khan, from the start up political party to now a party in power in Pakistan. His policies and stance on some issues have warmed my heart, and on others I have had to stop and think about the sagacity of his words.

Today he is heading the government of a very difficult country, which does have enormous potential, and in my first blog after his election I imparted some advice to him (https://aqsher.blogspot.com/2018/07/letter-to-imran-khan.html) highlighting that tackling the economy and setting the foreign policy course are the two most important tasks before him. His successes so have on both fronts have been marginal. While his recent handling of the face off with India has been very good, his faux pas on Afghanistan, the recent press conference in Tehran, and his governments lack of economic direction are disturbing to say the least.

While one can go into specifics here, the fundamental problem lies in the way the PTI governance is being carried out. Though social media may well not be the only way to gauge the mind set of the governing party and its supporters, there is no doubt that Imran's cavalier style effects the proper framing of policy. On foreign policy alone you see the Foreign Office, the Prime Ministers office and the Prime Minister himself issuing statements that clearly indicate a lack of coordination and internal discussion between them.

A large part of me had hoped that Imran Khan would be a cohesive force after becoming Prime Minister. In this sense he has failed as the narrative from the PTI camp seems to suggest an intolerance to criticism. I, even though a well wisher of Imran, run the risk of being attacked on social media for criticizing him here. Imran and the PTI would argue that being inclusive towards political figures of the past who, in their eyes, robbed the nation of its wealth is next to impossible. My simple retort would be by all means accountability should be there and any one who has stolen money or misused public office should be brought to justice. However, this should be through the due process of the law. The national accountability machinery should be used to investigate and then the courts of law should be the ones to determine the fate of such people. Much like predecessor governments NAB seems to be a weapon against those who happen to be opponents and may well have ill gotten wealth.

The atmosphere is becoming toxic in a sense. Exit control lists, assuming all investments are from ill gotten wealth and in a sense short circuiting the due process of law in the aim to bring people to justice who allegedly stole money does have its ramifications on the business environment. Yes Imran Khan wants to clean up things, and that is a laudable task, but there are courts to do that and the effort should not look like its just a witch hunt for certain people. Legitimate investors will obviously be worried if arbitrary actions will come to haunt them for making investments into the country.

Indeed with an external debt of $99 billion and economic numbers across the board looking dismal, there will be a tendency to lean towards the blame game. Economic management in Pakistan has over decades been unhinged. While even the current debt level is around the same level as a percentage of GDP over the past two decades (ranges from 24% to 31% debt to GDP) there is no doubt that there has been a propensity to borrow even when GDP growth has been good. Part of the reason is the tax revenue has been abysmally low. In a country with a workforce of 58 million people the official tax payers who filed returns in 2018 was only 1.4 million!

Clearly what I would have expected Imran Khan to do is to work with the two other major parties on forming a consensus on economic policy and to legislatively overhaul the economic structure. In an environment where PTI feels anyone who is not supporting them is a traitor to the country there will not be any hope of a unified approach to economic reforms. It is time for the rhetorical slandering to be scaled down and for the PTI and its leadership to understand that just as the country united to face the recent threat from India, the same cooperation and mentality is needed to deal with the economic crisis the country faces.

Yes there are differences between the main leadership of the PMLN and PPP with PTI but there is still a possibility for a broad consensus with the rank and file members of both parties to consider a multi-partisan approach to handling issues of national importance. To me resetting the economic agenda is a priority and its great that Imran sees what is good about other countries and wants to learn from China and Iran and others, he must also realize the solutions are well within the intellectual capital available within the country.

Indian Elections: Divisions being put to test.

India is undoubtedly the worlds largest democracy with over 900 million going to the polls this election. So gigantic is the task that voting spans seven phases and a six week period, all in the backdrop of electioneering that continues till the last vote is dropped in the ballot box. This election, however, pitches not only the traditional rivals; Modi's BJP against Rahul Gandhi's Congress, but also, almost in keeping with elections the world over since Mr Trumps election, pitting divergences like never before. Modi's rallying point has been a heightened appeal towards a 'New India' based on a nationalist appeal, and playing the terrorism card to the extent that promising an end to the special status if Indian Kashmir. Gandhi's party appeals to the broader base of Indian secular integration and reform that having been its hallmarks.

In a country so large and diverse polling would be either ridiculously flawed or totally biased to rely upon to make any predictions. Modi's use of and support from a smattering of Indian TV channels and personalities is reminiscent of a nation almost ready to go to war. The recent confrontation with Pakistan where India lost one jet fighter and claiming to have shot down an Pakistani F 16 seems to initially have been the jingoism that Modi needed. This seems to have backfired badly as Imran Khan, the Pakistani PM, quickly returned the down pilot and then waited for the Indian media spin to continue till evidence came from none other that the US itself that Pakistan did not lose a F 16.

Indeed Modi's pitch has been that if you hate Modi then you hate India! A message that may have an appeal within the hard core of the BJP ranks but in a diverse country like India where many of the states and people from different segments feel disfranchised by the Modi camp it might be a slogan that would not hold voter attention. Additionally almost 80 million new, and mostly young, voters have been added to the list. These voters may well hold the card to some main polling battles.

Living in UAE one has a large number of Indian friends and their feedback, while not indicative of 900 million people who vote, does give an insight into the issues. A well placed Muslim engineer from Hyderabad in India made an interesting comment that the Muslim voters along with the voters in the Southern States could well tilt the balance away from Modi. Then he added yet to the Muslims it will make little difference because they will continue to me marginal and treated accordingly. A couple of workers from Kerala who I often bump into were adamant that Modi was himself causing these 'terror' attacks and is more corrupt than all of the others put together.

Modi does have one thing going for him. A robust social media presence, (which matters with young voters) and the ability to deflect controversy with ease. To him the spin matters, and rest is just noise. Rahul Gandhi and the Congress will certainly be tested and for the progressive Indians the Congress has always been a better bet. Yet they have to climb the proverbial mountain since in 2014 they won only 44 seats, down from 206 in the 2009 election. While alliances will help the Congress this perhaps will be its biggest test to turn around its fortunes.

The fact in the recent regional elections the BJP lost some key states, which in fact had been instrumental in helping BJP win the 2014 election, will be a matter of concern to Modi and co. In states like Tamil Nadu Modi has struggled, especially with the younger voters. Modi has been playing the patriotism card over the recent spate with Pakistan, and even though it is evident that the Indian Air Force did not fair well, his spin doctors continue to deny that and hail Modi as patriot who you favor and if you don't then you are anti Indian.

None of this implies that Modi and the BJP would not have a decent showing in the elections, but it might well be so that they will not have a simple majority on their own to form a government. If Congress and its potential allies can have a good enough showing then forming a coalition government is open to either camp.

Beyond electioneering what I find disturbing is this nationalist born again fervor which can be a dangerous card to play. Anyone who talks of moderation and peace in regional affairs is dubbed a 'peacenik' and 'anti Indian'. Modi and co are playing out a message of scare mongering which may well help them in the short term but in a country where emotions run high and a reconciliation towards a strong central government in New Delhi is not something that the population of Tamil Nadu and other southern states have quite yet embraced. Certainly they want a united India and perhaps a strong India, but they want their voice to be a part of that message not on the fringes of Indian politics.

In terms of India's neighbors I doubt it will make any difference whether the Congress or the BJP are in power. Certainly the BJP may wish to continue its niggling with Pakistan but they may well have learned that in the recent round of exchanges Imran Khan of Pakistan seems to have outwitted the accomplished and seasoned Narendra Modi. It would be interesting if Modi went ahead and changed the status of Indian Kashmir the backlash may well be something he then cannot blame Pakistan off. Either way these elections, barring Modi's attempt to play the 'war with Pakistan' card, regional and international issues have been totally absent from the political speeches.

In sense rising unemployment, and managing an economy that has become enormous with its own challenges, and finally a need to define India's economic partnerships in a broader context are imperatives that who ever is elected will need to address.

Can Trump be impeached?

The past week clearly was pivotal in showing the extent to which Mr Donald J Trump can lie and mislead people. His former attorney, Micheal Cohen, who once said he would take a bullet for his client, realized the bullet headed his way was really a cannon ball and ducked to become a snitch that could spell trouble for President Trump. To say he was the quarter back directing the play for the Trump empire across not only business deals but hush money and campaign funding would be an understand. While Trump will dismiss him as unimportant person in the Trump organization, the fact remains Cohen may well have spewed out more than what Robert Mueller was looking for.

While Democrats and the anti Trump camp may be rejoicing that they might just have enough to impeach the President, there is a clear matter of legal issues to consider. If President Trump lied under oath to the FBI or the Mueller investigation, then indeed impeachment is a possibility. However, it would then be important to consider what did he lie about? Knowing of the hush money payments and saying he did not while a lie, would not constitute enough of a crime to be impeached upon. However, if it is proved that he knew that some of the money that funded his campaign was illegal and undisclosed then the matter might take a more serious tone.


In a broader sense, the distinctions of lying as an impeachable offense and lying in general, raise more disturbing traits to the persona of  Mr Trump. Yes politicians lie and bend the truth all the time, every one has done it, but Trump has taken lying to not only an art form but has blatantly bended the truth to the point that perhaps he and some of his supporters, have a totally different vision of reality. Coupled with the art of deflection Trumpians tend to still not accept the man is a pathological liar of the highest order. Kelly Anne Conway, his most ardent supporter, on the Chris Cuomo interview kept on repeating that 'Trump did not direct Cohen to break the law." Fair enough he perhaps did not, but that is not the question, the question is was he present in one of the meetings where payments as hush money were discussed?

Presidents cannot be impeached for lying to the public, perhaps because politicians are expected to lie to the electorate! This is ironic in the sense that he lied his whole way through the primaries and into the White House and continues to invent facts as he sees them, and the only retribution he can face is at the ballot box. There is no mechanism to hold him accountable other than the election or within the media. What all this means is that unless the Mueller probe comes up with a smoking gun that is directly linked to President Trump himself most likely President Trump will run out his term.


However, if Mueller does not get the link directly to Trump, and this is not the focus of his investigation, but indicts Trump Jr, or others close to him then the tightly spun web of deceit into the Trump camp will begin to unravel. It is also possible Trump may be infuriated by any indictment of a family member and will simply start a serious of questionable executive orders, pardons and firings which will perhaps save his family but leave the Trump Presidency open to impeachment. An unhinged Trump is not going to be a pleasant sight for anyone. The core of the Republican party is perhaps also fed up with the way things have turned out and might not have the will to continue to support a President who has become an embarrassment to many of them.

The base of Trumps support amongst the public, however, will not have any of this. To them Trump is making America great again and that slogan itself evokes a sense of patriotism, as false as it may be, that Trump relies on the most. His survival instincts are honed into playing to mainly that segment of the American public, a segment that has become his die hard base, to whom the man's lying, questionable ethics of business and his total lack of respect for others is seen as a man who is doing the right thing in their eyes. This is the division that Trump has brought to American politics, a division that he flaunts with gusto because it is where he feels he is right and everything he and his cohorts spin off feed into the mainstream of this base.

In the real political world if Trump is faced with impeachment his base may rally with protests and noise, but in the legal sense none of it can be consequential to a possible impeachment. The merits of whether he can be impeached all go back to the Mueller probe and this is why he and his base continue to call for its shut down. The Mueller probe is not about Trump, its about simply one fact whether the Russians interfered with the US election and how? It so happens that in investigating that many aspects of the conduct of people close to Trump, (Manafort, Flynn, Cohen et al) have come up which have created different smaller, but more significant, investigations into Trump Jr meeting the Russians, campaign finances, election rule violations, and even money laundering. These are the things which could lead to a more focused finger pointing to Mr Trump himself. While in fairness nothing has been revealed thus far other than his lying about certain matters related to hush money payments, the fat lady, or the tall man in this case, (Mueller) still has not sung.

Trump, Mueller and the approaching meltdown.

Donald J Trump has two very distinct traits which coexist, diametrically opposed to each other, within his persona. We know on the one hand he has a very thin skin, and yet on the other hand looking by the comments on his post he has a panache to ignore the noise he does not like. While this sounds like a complicated contradiction in a confused man, he functions in a manner that allows him not to switch on and off from each trait, but simply to let them coexist as strange bedfellows.

He has handled the Mueller probe into Russian meddling in US elections pretty much ignoring his once close buddies fall one by one and his ability to simply be indifferent to their plight On the other hand any direct comment to his own possible involvement or that of his family has provoked sharp reactions. Some time back at the start of his election campaign he seemed to draw two red lines; do not attack my family and do not probe into my finances.

By bringing the family not only into the campaign but also into the White House he essentially he positioned them into an arena where their actions are fair game to comment on. His intransigence over disclosing his true financial position along with the tax returns has a great deal to do with the supposed shady past of his fund raising for his businesses.

However, with the Mueller investigation a collision course is inevitable between Mr Trump and Bob Mueller. While it would be far fetched to conclude that Trump himself directed and participated in interference by the Russians, his knowledge of certain events, which he denies, may be exposed. While this would honor him with the Noble Prize for deception and lying it may well not carry the weight of enough wrong doing to be impeached.

However, there is an achilles heel to Trump and that is his son Donald Trump jr, who it is established did encourage and even participate in contact with the Russians to dig up dirt on Hilary Clinton. Is that an offense? We wait to see what concludes on that legal aspects. But it would seem that Mueller might indict Trump jr. for multiple counts of lying and misleading the FBI and the special counsel probe. Even if he does not disclose who those two phone calls were to on or around the time of the meeting with the Russians in the Trump Tower, there may well be enough for Mueller to at least make some charges stick on the junior Trump.

Now were this to happen, which seems highly likely, Donald Trump, the President, will completely lose his marbles. His rage will not be via a Twitter storm, but more likely by wielding his Presidential powers. This could be a general pardon for his son, Paul Manafort and a whole host of people who would be under the Mueller probe. Firing Mueller is difficult and perhaps too late as some suggest the indictments are already made and under seal. It is also possible that Trump will in his rage fire the Assistant Attorney General, go after his own party leaders for not supporting him on stopping 'this witch hunt' as he calls the probe.

Trump would feel emboldened by his now near fanatical base, even though in the scheme of the nation its small, but noisy, and take measures that would be tantamount to a dictator in a third world country ensuring he and his cohorts are above the law. Legally there is no denying that he has the legal power to pardon any one he chooses to and does not have to assign a reason for doing so. While some may argue a pardon would have political fall out Trump cannot afford. That may be true in so far as we talk of Manafort and others, but when it comes to his son, Trump would not care of fall out. His base would say 'well what do you expect a good father to do other than protect his son?' and Trump has disclaimed the investigation enough times to simply say his pardons protect peoples lives being wrecked by the Mueller probe.

If we have seen Trump mad we have noticed that all pretense of being Presidential goes out of the window. In the event Trump Jr is indicted his worst rages thus far will look quiet and calm as the pianist at the lobby of one his hotels. What we will see is blood seeking rage and the man will tear up the Constitution, the White House and even the whole country till he feels he has got his own way. This is the reality of Donald J Trump and soon we will see a day of reckoning when he will have to choice to accept the circumstances of the indictment and let the court deal with the matter, or he will take matters in his own hands (small ones) and rip every one around him to shreds.

The Breaking Up of the United States.

Nations are not only defined by the borders they live within but by the traditions and values of the institutions they build and the values that become the guiding principles of society. Democracy flourishes when these institutions and values not only become the ethos of the nation but also something that in a sense remains inviolable and sacred.  The traditions of a free and independent press, a fair and just judiciary, a politically educated population and the respect for the rule of law all become pillars upon which democratic nations rest.

Since 2015 the galvanizing of political support during the US Presidential elections set in motion a trend of intolerance, divisiveness, and a political cult of hate which continues to this day. The fact that a hyperbole of fear was created through lies and misinformation is often ignored even by people who defend it knowing that they are defending lies shows the extent to which the manipulation of political consent of the people continues. At the center of this erosion of values that define democracy is a man none other than Donald J Trump, the President of the United States.

For those of us who though the electioneering rhetoric would be replaced by a more Presidential Mr. Trump, were rudely awakened to his first lie about the size of the crowd at his inauguration. That blatant lie carried two very important insights, one, that he had no problem with lying, and two, he was going to be obsessed to shown he is more popular and a better President that Barrack Obama. However, it was not that alone; he continued his attack on the Press, calling anyone who disagreed with him as Fake News, and blatantly made derogatory remarks about who ever offended him.

The confrontation with a CNN reporter after the mid term elections, and then the use of a doctored video to justify the withdrawal of the press pass of the reporter all indicate troubling times for the way US values of democracy are being chipped away by this man. His ardent supporters will continue to buy the doctrine of 'fake news' that is espoused by Trump and his close circle, ignoring that the majority of reputable news networks cannot simple peddle fake news. Admittedly, some of them do have a bias and this is quite normal in a free press environment, but to expect them to be lackey's of the White House, as some claim Fox News has become, is stretching the imagination too far.

What is all this doing to the soul of the United States? Without a doubt the average American is a decent hard working, and even if not having a worldly view, is still a human being with values for life and liberty. While the shape and tone of tolerance may vary across America, it has never been afraid to confront the issues that sat uncomfortably with the norms of democracy; thanks largely to  free press. The issue of segregation, the protests to the Vietnam war, the over sight of misuse of Presidential power by Nixon, the unbecoming behavior of Bill Clinton as President, all were under the scrutiny of the press and brave reporters and journalists became the voice of the 'unheard'.

More importantly, the free press always held President's and their administration accountable, even though one may argue at times the press manufactured 'consent' as it did over the WMD issue and Iraq, on balance it kept a check on a president going rouge. This is not the world Donald Trump wants or respects, and him calling the press the 'enemy of the people'. To students of history this is a shocking reference as through history it has been used by totalitarian governments and fascists with alarmingly similarity to President Trump.

In 1794 during the French Revolution a law was passed that people who spread 'false news, (yes the same term was used back then) were the enemies of the people and such crimes were 'punishable by death.' Hitler and his cohorts repeatedly called Jewish writers guilds and other groups opposed to the Nazi policies as 'enemies of the people.' Stalin in a closed door address to the Communist Party of the Soviet Union called journalists, thinkers, and intellectuals who opposed the government as 'enemies of the people', and carried out the most repressive measures against them.

Donald Trump does not read, and certainly does not read history, his entire knowledge of history can perhaps be put on the back of a postage stamp and leave space to spare. He perhaps does not realize in his bid to consolidate power he is using the tools of trade used by dictators and his supporters, much like the millions of German's who not only stood by, but adopted the Nazi slogans are doing exactly the same. These are otherwise very rationale and perhaps intelligent people who, when it comes to Trump, abandon all logic and anything against him is seen as unpatriotic. Interesting that all dictators equated criticism of them as leaders to be the same as being unpatriotic.These parallels are chilling and at the heart of it they are dividing the United States.

People have become less tolerant of political differences, they have given up years of friendship just become one is a Republican and the other a Democrat. While the Democrats may well carry the burden of their own rhetoric there is no denying that the fuel to the fire that today divides America comes from the mouth of Donald Trump alone. He instills fear in the people, like the migrant caravan, which suddenly today, a week after the mid term elections, is not even spoken off. He has no issue with dropping words that have racist tones and then plead normalcy in his speech.

The United States needs to take back the values that make it such a great nation. It needs to stop this division and the behavior that ferments this hate and stand up for the freedom of the press. Sadly few realize that the fissures that Mr Trump has been driving into the social fabric of American society will not only become massive cracks, they will divide the country up in a manner where generations will pass before the healing sets in.

Pakistan: Aasia Bibi verdict and its lessons.

The acquittal of Aasia Bibi, a Christian woman accused in Pakistan of blasphemy and sentenced to death, brought home some truths about the prejudice towards minorities. While the Supreme Court of Pakistan found no evidence of her alleged crime in its momentous decision highlight the need to understand the issues that plague minorities in our society. The extreme elements of radical mullahs want none of this and believe the woman should be hanged and have taken to the streets, ignoring that the basic tenant of Islam is that she should have been proven to be guilty without a shadow of doubt, they have taken to agitation and openly calling for the general to revolt.

All this took me back to my own life in Pakistan and I recalled an incident that happened when i was about 12 years old. Every summer we worked on my father farm harvesting wheat and one day being very thirsty I reached for a glass, poured some water in it and drank it. A man who was a villager working on the farm came up to me and said I just drank from Yunus Masih's glass and he is a Christian. I said "So what? He is a human being?" The man told me it was 'na Pak' (unclean) to drink or eat from a non muslims utensils. I told him its OK, and walked off.

At the root of the case against Aasia Bibi is the incident where two Muslim women accused her of using their utensils and being a Christian they felt she committed a grave crime and the argument flared from there. Now, over 40 years since my little incident I researched this subject. There is nothing in the Quran or the Hadith that forbids a Muslim to eat or drink from the utensils of a Christian or a Jew (People of the Book). A Hadith only mentions if you know a plate has been used to serve pork and there is no other alternate then you may wash the plate and use it.

We as Pakistanis fail to accept the influence of Hindu culture and practice in our society, because to all intents and purpose hundreds of years ago our ancestry is Hindu or at least influenced by Hindu's. Hindus, especially strict Brahmins, believe that a certain section of society, even Hindus, who engage in menial jobs are 'untouchables' and it is forbidden to even touch them. This whole concept on Pakistani society that Christians are not allowed to touch our plates or glasses etc come from the over hang of this concept of 'untouchables' that was in society in undivided India, and to this day exists in India.

My mother was a convert and her acceptance of Islam was a private matter and nothing she advertised or boasted about. She retained her maiden name of 'Amita' and wore a sari all her life. However, now with hindsight I often wonder how much of this played a role in my father, a highly decorated officer, not being promoted to Major General? (Perhaps it did not help matters that my mother was a very outspoken on women's rights). Growing up alot of my friends were Parsi or Christian and not once did I personally feel any difference from them or towards them. My curiosity to their different faith often resulted in my mother telling me to read about their faith and understand it.

Somewhere in the convoluted history of Pakistan all this changed and intolerance became the hallmark of being considered a 'good muslim', the mullah, assumed the role of the apostle for the uneducated and his word the gospel. The intolerance that followed mixed with the history of a nation that never quite faced its own demons resulted in all Christians and Non Muslims to be considered outcasts. These uneducated self appointed guardians of our glorious religion do not know or appreciate the role of minorities in the service of Pakistan. Names like Justice Cornelius (a Christian), Justice Dorab Patel (a Hindu) , Raja Tridiv Roy ( Buddhist), Jamshed Marker (a Parsi) and many more mean nothing to these men whose ignorance is only matched by their intolerance. These and many more are the names of men who had principles and stood for what Pakistan was to its founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah. These men, without a doubt, paid a huge personal price to make that vision of Pakistan that is now being chipped away with each sermon from these extremist mullahs.

I have had my personal journey too, and come to the fold of Islam in my own unique way, and in the process learned from my mother that you cannot be a true Muslim till you clear your doubts by questioning them. But then one cannot be on some crusade to point fingers at others and yet have the courage to speak up with in the name of Islam people like these mullahs in Pakistan condemn a woman to death on false charges. Where they use religion as a tool to manipulate the masses to meet their own political ends.

Aasia Bibi's case has brought to our conscious that the Supreme Court found her non guilty on all counts and they, rightfully said in their judgement that they are the highest court in the land not just for Muslims but for all those tried under the laws of Pakistan. The three judges have done their part now for the vast majority of Pakistani's it is time to stand up and tell these miscreants on the streets making a noise that they cannot hijack the verdict, they cannot change the writ of the law to suit their own motives. Failure to do so will only play into the hands of these elements who are a disgrace to a religion that seeks fairness to its minorities, and after decades of mistreatment this verdict takes a giant step towards making things right. But, its only one step, the rest we all have to take together.

Trump and Twitter: The role of social media in US Politics.

President Trump, as candidate for the Presidential election, whether by design or through the sheer twist of his personality used social media, and especially Twitter, to create a phenomenon that actually won him the election. I do not believe this was a thought out strategy but it fell into a space where his personality benefited from the use of this 160 words messaging blitz per message and as it snowballed into a massive following of over 55 million followers, it became his chosen platform of communication. While admittedly not all 55 million are his ardent admirers it did draw into his base of followers. Without disrespect to his base, most of them did not prefer to delve into the 3000 word articles analyzing the position of different candidates on national and even international issues. Like Trump their attention span fitted into the Twitter format perfectly.

But this was only the backdrop in which then candidate Trump and now President, tweeted over 35,000 tweets in the past year alone. Spending months analyzing Trumps Twitter behavior reveals something interesting. Not prone to a serious debate or deep intellectual discourses on the state of the world or the US, Trump realized that he could say anything on Twitter and in a nano second it would not only be read but believed by his followers. If it was a lie, and many of his tweets were fabrications, then people would, much like the world of Twitter just simply move on.

His biggest coup was apparent when Hilary Clinton was speaking at the Democratic Convention and while she was speaking, Donald Trump was tweeting, in real time, his rebuttals, some of which were not accurate, to a much larger audience. Having sent his tirade of tweets out while Hilary was speaking he forced the hand of the press corp to then not only report on what Hilary had said but in real time also refer to what Trump had said on those issues. This was unprecedented as in the past such a speech would have been reported as it happened only the next day or hours later the rebuttals from opposing candidates would be reported. In a sense Trump was diluting Hilary's message.

Because no one in political circles had seen this sort of use of social media the political pundits considered Trump inexperienced, immature politically to have a serious view point. But these intellectual stalwarts forgot one important thing, Trump was outflanking them and appealing to the very people who did not read or want to read the lengthy articles in the main media. Like Trump they liked in the world of the nano second, and it did not matter to them what anyone else said but like it or not Trump had not only the first move advantage on Twitter, he relentlessly hogged that space.

Fact checking Trumps tweets does reveal in general he was lying, bending facts, or simply attacking people. But this did not matter because much like Twitters architecture a message has a limited life out there and yes people can comment and correct the tweet, but still the original message has found its mark. Importantly Trump followed one cardinal rule, he ignored all replies to his tweets, even those that praised him, the few that they were, because to him these views that did not agree with him did not matter, they were just noise. The media outlets that liked his message believed his tweets with messianic fervor, his detractors laughed at him, but beneath the surface he managed to communicate with his base in a simple language they liked, truth or not.

As President, Trump has not given up Twitter and even used it to go after North Korea, China, Nato, Mexico, Canada, you name it and he has done it. Many purists believe, and rightly so, that Twitter during a campaign and Twitter as President are two different roles and it is not becoming of the President of the United States to use Twitter to demean and attack people. However, perhaps its a habit with Donald Trump that he cannot quit Twitter, or that he simply believes the electioneering must continue and twitter is the weapon of choice to him. Even as President the spread of lies through Twitter does not bother him because unlike other President these mid term elections are really a battle for his survival. He knows if his predicted red wave falters, then even his supporters in Congress will jump ship, all the more reason many of them have followed him for the fear that his base may turn against them. However, in time the US public will realize that his core base cannot be larger than the electorate and the test of that is around the corner.

For the moment Trump has only two weapons in his hands; his public rallies and his Twitter account. He has spent less time working as President than he has on the campaign trail trying to get his loyal candidates elected, sometimes sounding as if it was he fighting the election and not them. It seems its a matter of time when, like Kanye West, others realize that Donald Trump has used and abused their support. For the moment one has to give him his due credit for knowing the power of Twitter was powerful enough to tell lies and still be elected.