Politics, they say, is the art of persuasion. But for some leaders across the globe, persuasion is just another word for peddling lies with the confidence of a seasoned conman. At 78, Donald Trump has perfected this art in the United States. Meanwhile, in India, a 54-year-old adolescent who refuses to grow into statesmanship has embraced the same playbook—misinformation, victimhood, and endless tantrums. Together, they offer a fascinating case study in how to destroy public trust in democratic institutions while pretending to be their saviours.
The parallels are too striking to ignore. Trump, the self-styled champion of “America First,” reduced the world’s oldest democracy to a circus with his unfounded claims—accusing Indian techies of “draining” American wealth and railing against India’s “unacceptable” tariffs. On one hand, he berated India for buying fuel from Russia, while conveniently ignoring that Europe and China were doing the same. Even the U.S. itself quietly imported critical minerals from Russia despite the much-hyped sanctions after the Ukraine war. In the process, he strained, if not sabotaged, India–U.S. relations painstakingly built over the years—going so far as to use undiplomatic language and dismiss India, one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, as a “punished” and “dead” nation.
Cut to India, where the Opposition leader in the Lok Sabha appears determined to import this toxic narrative—with a desi twist. His latest refrain, “vote chori,” targets not just the government but also a constitutional body: the Election Commission. The irony? This is the very institution that conducted elections allowing him and his party to retain whatever political relevance they still have.
But why bother with irony when hysteria sells better? The toolkit gang behind him, with their cut-and-paste strategies, knows exactly how to amplify noise: keep attacking institutions until the mud sticks. And if it doesn’t, at least the headlines will. The idea is simple—delegitimize the referee when you can’t win the game. After all, it’s easier to scream “cheating” than to admit the obvious: Prime Minister Narendra Modi remains India’s tallest leader, both domestically and globally, commanding trust that the Opposition’s juvenile antics can’t dent.
Take the Bihar elections. The Opposition has been flogging the dead horse of “vote theft,” hoping it might resonate with the electorate. But Biharis, with their innate political wisdom, are unlikely to buy into this imported drama. For them, governance, development, and credibility matter more than soundbites crafted in Lutyens drawing rooms or borrowed from American playbooks. If anything, the Opposition risks sounding like a parody of Trump, minus the orange tan and skyscrapers.
Both Trump and India’s adolescent leader thrive on victimhood. Trump paints himself as the misunderstood genius, persecuted by the “deep state.” His Indian counterpart parrots the same script—an eternal martyr waging war against shadowy conspiracies. In reality, the only conspiracy at play is their refusal to grow up and accept accountability. One blames India’s rising economic and military clout; the other blames New Delhi’s institutions. Both weaponize grievance, serving it to their followers as if it were gospel truth.
And then there are the lies—endless, shameless lies. Trump promised walls, jobs, and a return to greatness. What he delivered was division and debt. Our local adolescent promises revolutions in every speech, yet delivers nothing but chaos in every state his party governs. If performance was the currency of politics, both would be bankrupt. But politics, alas, rewards perception, and here is where their machinery excels: manufacture outrage, monetize anger, and recycle slogans until fatigue sets in.
Let’s not forget the theatrics. Trump’s Twitter feed was once the stuff of late-night comedy gold, a place where policy announcements jostled with personal insults. The Indian leader, not to be outdone, has his own brand of melodrama—grandstanding in Parliament, boycotts that achieve nothing, and a perpetual scowl that suggests he has been wronged by destiny itself. Both are addicted to the spotlight, and both mistake attention for affection.
In the final analysis, the resemblance is uncanny. Two men, oceans apart, united by immaturity and mendacity. One is a septuagenarian adolescent; the other, a middle-aged adolescent. Both thrive on conspiracy theories, undermine global diplomacy, and insult the intelligence of their citizens. Both mistake noise for leadership. And both are on the wrong side of history.
Democracy, however, is more resilient than their antics. Can America survive Trump his second term without further humiliations? India will certainly survive its adolescent Opposition, no matter how the toolkit gang tries to create chaos, anarchy and unrest in the country. The people, wiser than politicians give them credit for, eventually separate the wheat from the chaff.
And so, as Bihar prepares to vote, one thing is certain: “vote chori” is less a charge than a confession—of intellectual bankruptcy, of political laziness, and of a leadership that prefers tantrums to transformation.
Perhaps it’s time both Trump and his Indian counterpart enrolled in the same finishing school. Lesson one: democracy thrives not on lies, but on accountability. Until then, we’ll keep calling them what they are—grown men trapped in adolescence, armed with microphones and a bottomless bag of fibs.
