When Imran Khan was taking oath as PM of Pakistan, on 18 August 2018, millions of Pakistanis were hoping for change – Naya Pakistan. Khan said in his inaugural address said, “I promise my nation today that we will bring the tabdeeli (change) that this nation was starving for”. Same time, popular TV host and comedian, Trevor Noah put forward his arguments as to why he thinks Khan, in many ways, mirrors US President Donald Trump. He compared, Trump and Khan, from their three weddings to their political careers.
Here we shall discuss some more similarities between the two: Both were celebrities, Trump; a real estate tycoon, and Khan; a cricket superstar, turned politician with sky-high egos. Both possess conservative views and exploit the deep anti-government grievances of right-wing constituencies and use the nationalist-cum-religious card to win the sympathy of the masses. Both assert to be the agent of change against the ruling class and messiah for marginalized regions of the country.
Both made tall claims, Trump pledged to build a wall and named it the “Great Wall of Trump” to keep Mexican immigrants out of America. Khan vowed to eliminate corruption and terrorism in 90 days to keep plunderers and corrupt politicians out of politics. Both were showpieces in front of the camera and having zero progress on ground, spoiled their strategic relations with other countries and crippled the economy. When voters rejected Trump in the second term, his supporters reacted violently and attacked capitol hill to change the election results.
Same did khan’s supporters when the resolution of the vote of no confidence moved in NA, they attacked the Sindh House and on the day of voting on the no-confidence motion, its puppet speaker dismissed the resolution which is a flagrant violation of the constitution. Trump narrowly won the first presidency and failed to be re-elected, Khan also become PM with a thin majority, and have no chance to win the vote of no confidence in parliament. Both men are unabashed charismatic narcissists who see themselves as deserving attention and power. They are masterful impression managers, dress to impress, disguise arrogance as confidence, and are superb social networkers. Convinced they are never wrong, they take credit whenever things go well.
When things go awry, they blame colleagues and subordinates, it is always easier to fool others when you have already fooled yourself; it is always harder to feel guilty when you think you are innocent. Both use abusive language against their critics and rival politicians. Both used to change their opinion quickly as it suits their purpose, Khan was famous for his U-turns. Both preferred winning, like in real estate and in sports, always and by using all their means.
Concluding both consider themselves as they are their own man, an expert in all things, faintly hedonistic, vengeful, pitiless, sentiment exploitive, intimidating and bullying, manipulative, dishonest, cheat to win, highly prejudiced, mean-spirited, militant, nationalistic, tell others what they want to hear.
AYAZ AHMED
SINDH
