“Why harp on the facts, it’s the exaggerations that makes a tale interesting!” A favourite aunt once exclaimed when I tried to fact-check a funny family story she was narrating to a huge, giggling audience two decades ago. Each member of my clan cheered her on and it was the start of a delightful evening.

Donald Trump’s interview with Elon Musk sent me back in time as I waded through the conversation. Both Trump and Musk know the importance of exaggerations in any narrative. The Indic epic poets knew it. Herodotus knew it. And so did Boccaccio, Chaucer, and Shakespeare. Trump’s exaggerations, ably supported by his interviewer, made for a good story for his supporters. All 60 million of them he thought were tuned into the live broadcast. This number is an exaggeration, too.

A Risk Worth Taking

But why does Trump exaggerate all the time despite a bevvy of fact-checkers waiting to give each syllable uttered by him a hang-draw-quarter treatment? Political storytelling is assessed under different rubrics than literary texts. Is this a risk worth taking? The answer is a resounding yes. 

Trump capitalises on narcissism when he indulges in making outlandish claims. To understand this link better, let’s look at what the experts have to say about narcissism. “For the narcissistically involved person, there is only one reality: that of his own thought processes, feelings and needs. The world outside is not experienced or perceived objectively, i.e., as existing in its own terms, conditions and needs,” Erich Fromm proposed in the 1950s.  Fromm also posited that narcissists have a stronger sense of entitlement. This lays bare the reasons behind Trump’s constant resort to exaggerations.

Narcissism And Politics

All politicians are narcissistic in some measure; this trait allows them to, first, enter politics, and then stay in it. Narcissism, however, has a highly specialised function for certain political ideologies. The interlinkages of narcissism with the sense of entitlement are important to understand while analysing why Trump’s narcissism works for him politically. A study conducted by political scientists Peter K. Hatemi and Zoltân Fazekas found that “In the 2016 election, higher entitlement reflected the mood of the general public, certainly among the working class, which voted Republican in greater numbers”. Hatemi and Fazekas propose that narcissism may have a role to play in the rise of populist politics. Trump’s constituents and those curious about him are offered a blanket of familiarity.

In simple terms, Trump’s worldview, presented with an exaggerated sense of self-importance and confidence, wins people over. People who are ever so anxious about their entitlements being eroded. And this is why statements like the following work: “Our crime rate’s going through the roof.” Who cares whether the FBI’s reports show a consistent decline in crime levels since 2020, his last presidential year? Add to it a provocative claim about Kamala Harris, “She wants to release all the prisoners that are in detention, and some of these guys are really bad. That just came out today” and you have successfully created a sense of impending doom.

Trump, The Rescuer

Trump is relying on honest Americans to believe that their entitlements are being eaten away by outsiders. Thus, he makes exaggerated claims like, “You have millions of people coming in a month” and “I believe it’s over 20 million people came into our country” about illegal immigrants. He wants people to believe that they are living under extraordinary circumstances by saying, “I think we have the worst inflation we’ve had in 100 years. They say it’s 48 years, I don’t believe it”. Shrinking entitlements being further nibbled on by outsiders-which one of us, narcissist or not, would find that desirable?

People need to despair for the narcissist to, then, brandishing his exaggerated belief in self, come in for the rescue. Trump wants people to believe that he, and only he, can solve these crises. Just the way only he could “solve” the Iran and China crises for the United States. “Iran was broke because I told China, ‘If you buy from Iran…’ Oil, it’s all about the oil, that’s where the money is. ‘…If you buy oil from Iran, you’re not going to do any business with the United States.’ And I meant it, and they said, ‘We’ll pass,’ and they didn’t buy oil.” America can be made great again only when it is unequivocally established that it is in ruins. And it can be made great again only by Trump.

Trump’s conversation with Musk, therefore, needs to be seen not as a “rambling” one which has significantly undermined his presidential prospects but as a tested strategy aimed at his constituents and swing voters. Whether it will fetch him a repeat of the 2016 outcome remains to be seen. 
Till then, let’s get lost in the meandering world of storytelling. 

(Nishtha Gautam is a Delhi-based author and academic.)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author

 

Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader was re-elected on May 19 for another four-year term, an endorsement of his handling of the economy and tough policies toward migration from Haiti.

The two nations share the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, but the much more prosperous Dominican Republic stands in stark contrast to its poverty and gang violence-plagued neighbor.

The volatility across the border has been a key issue in the election campaign, but Mr. Abinader, 56, also boasted success in managing the economy and the Covid-19 pandemic.

As the number of ballots counted passed 21%, his main rival, former president Leonel Fernandez, conceded defeat and congratulated Mr. Abinader.

“I am and will be the president of all Dominicans,” Mr. Abinader said in a speech before hundreds of supporters at his campaign Headquarters in the capital Santo Domingo.

“The people have expressed themselves clearly… I accept the trust I have received and the obligation not to disappoint,” Mr. Abinader said shortly after his two top rivals, including Mr. Fernandez, threw in the towel.

“I will not fail them,” he told supporters, who chanted “Four more years! Four more years!”

With 25% of votes counted, Mr. Abinader was ahead with more than 59%, fully 30 points clear of Fernandez, with 27%. A win with more than 50% of the vote is required to avoid a runoff.

Mr. Abel Martinez was in third with 10.7%, while the other six candidates barely topped 3% of the total.

‘Things can improve’

Mr. Abinader is a U.S.-trained economist of Lebanese descent and multi-millionaire heir of a family tourism and construction empire.

He was elected during the Covid pandemic in 2020 on promises of restoring trust in the Government after several high-profile corruption scandals embroiling public officials in the top tourist destination.

Once in office, he began building a 164-kilometre (102-mile) concrete wall along the border with Haiti to keep out undocumented migrants.

He had more than 250,000 migrants deported in 2023.

The president enjoys domestic approval ratings of around 70% — more than when he was elected — despite international pressure for the Dominican Republic to welcome more refugees.

The migration issue has not been a divisive one in the election, with both Fernandez and Mr. Abinader backing the deportation of Haitian migrants and increased border security.

Since he came to power, Mr. Abinader has increased immigration raids and multiplied deportations, built a wall on part of the border, and closed migration from Haiti.

Voter Javier Taveras, 38, told AFP on election day that he “likes the current position of maintaining sovereignty,” though not “the abuse against our Haitian brothers.”

As for the border wall, “I don’t know how effective it is,” he said.

A Gallup poll showed 47.5% of Dominicans believe the country was “on the right path” and 40% believed the economy is doing better than before.

Maria Ramona Antonio, a 74-year-old dentist, said she believes Abinader has done well and voted for his re-election.

“Look how tourism is going, which is the best source of work for us… the roads built, those people in need who now have health insurance,” she told AFP in Santo Domingo.

Mr. Fernandez had accused the Government of manipulating growth data. The World Bank reports that the Dominican economy grew 2.5% in 2023.

“I hope for economic stability from the next government,” said voter Taveras.

Opinion polls also showed Mr. Abinader’s Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) bound for a majority in Congress. Experts agree that the party will fare well in elections for the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies.

The party won 120 of 150 mayoral posts in February municipal elections, considered a litmus test ahead of the general vote.

“We are sweeping, we are on top,” voter Joney Dotel, a 38-year-old psychologist, said at the PRM Headquarters.

“The country continues with change, and it is in favor of democracy.”

Mr. Abinader rose to power on an anti-corruption platform. His minister of public works, Deligne Ascencion assured on May 19 that the elections were clean, despite complaints from opposition camps of vote-buying.

The country’s electoral commission reported it has not received any formal complaint of such irregularities.

Mumbai:

As the voting for the fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections got underway, veteran Bollywood actor Paresh Rawal exercised his democratic duty by casting his vote at a polling booth in Mumbai on Monday morning.

After casting his vote, Mr Rawal interacted with the media, emphasizing the importance of participating in elections.

#WATCH | Bollywood actor Paresh Rawal says, “…There should be some provisions for those who don’t vote, like an increase in tax or some other punishment.” pic.twitter.com/sueN0F2vMD

— ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2024

“You will say, government doesn’t do this, doesn’t do that… If you don’t vote today, then you will be responsible, not the government,” he stated, urging citizens to take responsibility for their civic duties.

He also suggested implementing penalties for those who abstain from voting. “There should be some provisions for those who don’t vote, like an increase in tax or some other punishment,” he added.

Elections to six Lok Sabha seats in Mumbai are underway for Phase 5 of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. The constituencies voting today include Mumbai North, Mumbai North West, Mumbai North East, Mumbai North Central, Mumbai South, and Mumbai South Central.

Several Bollywood celebrities, including Akshay Kumar, Shahid Kapoor, Sanya Malhotra, Rajkumar Rao, and Janhvi Kapoor, cast their votes at their respective polling booths in Mumbai earlier in the day.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Fertilizers and diesel prices have increased,” said All India Kisan Saba leader from Rajasthan Amra Ram. “Production is decreasing due to no significant increase in MSP. The Centre should have implemented [recommendations of the] Swaminathan Committee report,” he added.
| Photo Credit: AJAY VERMA

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has increased the Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for all Rabi crops for the finanicial year 2024-25. The increase for wheat, the major Rabi crop, is ₹150 per quintal and the new price will be ₹2,275.

Farmers’ organisations have criticised the “meagre” increase. The Centre procures wheat from about a dozen wheat-growing districts in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. The two States are among those that will witness upcoming Assembly elections.

Welcoming the announcement, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said the policies of the Centre have helped farmers to make agriculture a profitable vocation. He said the MSP is much higher than the input cost.

The highest increase in MSP compared with last year is for lentils (masur) at ₹425 per quintal (new price: ₹6,425 per quintal) followed by rapeseed and mustard at ₹200 per quintal (new MSP: ₹5,650 per quintal). For wheat and safflower, the increase is ₹150 per quintal (₹2,275 and ₹5,800 per quintal, respectively). For barley (new MSP: ₹1,850) and gram (new MSP: ₹5,440), the increase is ₹115 and ₹105 per quintal, respectively.

Farmers’ organisations said the MSP did not match the increase in input costs. “Fertilizers and diesel prices have increased,” said All India Kisan Saba leader from Rajasthan Amra Ram. “Production is decreasing due to no significant increase in MSP. The Centre should have implemented [recommendations of the] Swaminathan Committee report,” he added. Five districts in Rajasthan and about eight districts in Madya Pradesh contribute to the wheat procurement by Food Corporation of India.

Coordinator of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugraan) Pavel Kussa said the increase was not sufficient. “Where is the procurement? Without procurement MSP is meaningless. Such announcements do not have any meaning when the government goes away from procurement and leaves everyting to private traders,” Mr. Kussa said.

Separately, the Centre also announced the final estimated production of major crops during 2022-23. Rice production is estimated at 1,357.55 lakh tonnes, wheat at 1,105.54 lakh tonnes, nutri and coarse cereals at 573.19 lakh tonnes, maize at 380.85 lakh tonnes and pulses at 260.58 lakh tonnes.

Oilseeds production could touch 413.55 lakh tonnes, while sugarcane output could reach 4,905.33 lakh tonnes. Cotton is estimated at 336.60 lakh bales of 170 kg each and jute at 93.92 lakh bales of 180 kg each.

Oil pump jack is seen in front of displayed Israeli flag in this illustration taken, October 8, 2023.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

A protracted Israel-Hamas conflict could spur oil prices beyond India’s comfort zone and even if the government holds retail fuel prices ahead of critical elections, wholesale prices may spike and a higher import bill could pressure the rupee, according to experts.

Brent crude oil prices rose over 3% on Monday, crossing $87 a barrel even as equity markets around the world, including India, came under pressure as investors turned risk-averse and rushed to safe haven assets like gold.

Fears of a wider conflict between Israel and Hamas not only pulled down the NSE Nifty 0.72% or 141.2 points to 19,512.4, but also dragged trading volumes on the NSE to “the lowest in many weeks”, said Deepak Jasani, head of retail research at HDFC Securities.

Broad market indices fell more than the Nifty even as the advance-decline ratio fell sharply to 0.28:1, he added, stressing that the conflict is the latest negative trigger for markets that are already fretting about macroeconomic uncertainties in Europe and China, hawkish central banks and rising oil prices.

Also read: Israel-Palestine conflict LIVE updates on October 9

Beyond the short-term effect on markets, Bank of Baroda chief economist Madan Sabnavis said that if the war persists for even a fortnight or more, the oil dynamics will change. Crude oil prices going beyond $90 a barrel would pose trouble for the world economy as well as India.

“Iran joining the fray can affect the sea routes and push up transport and insurance costs. Higher crude prices will distort our balance of trade and current account deficit, thus putting pressure on the rupee,” Mr. Sabnavis noted.

For the government, there could be fiscal implications. With elections looming in several States and for the Lok Sabha in 2024, raising fuel prices may be an unlikely option, but higher costs will have to be absorbed either by oil marketing firms or the exchequer.

“Retail inflation can still be controlled by the government if it chooses to keep fuel prices unchanged. But wholesale price inflation will increase for sure. Some airlines have already increased fares after ATF price hikes, which is also inflationary,” the economist said.

Export earnings could also be hit as Israel buys around $5.5-6 billion of refined petroleum products a year from India.

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