Professors attached to The UWI dissect second Trump term

At the heart of US President-elect Donald Trump’s story is a narrative about whiteness.

And, it is neither innocuous nor inconsequential that he so frequently elevates whiteness as a desirable quality and feature of the American story and identity.

That is one view that came out of a University of the West Indies (UWI) virtual forum, entitled, “The 2024 U.S. Elections: Results, Reactions and Repercussions”.

According to Professor Canute Thompson, had Kamala Harris (Trump’s opponent in the 2024 US presidential election) made some of the statements that Trump made during the election campaign, she would have had to drop out of the race and would have been paid a “big” public beating price because of the way the media, including the Right, would have come down on her.

Thompson is a professor of Educational Policy, Planning and Leadership, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Board for Undergraduate Studies, and The UWI and was part of the panel for the forum that took place on Thursday, November 14 via the UWItv website, www.uwitv.global and social media platforms.

Professor Thompson said that during Trump’s campaign, he made mention on numerous occasion of “whiteness”.

“I want to remind us in several of Donald Trump’s rallies, he made the point that he is white, and spoke in glowing terms about that whiteness.

“At one point he said that his skin is so white if he was not running for president he would be sunbathing. I don’t read that as an innocuous comment,” Professor Thompson noted.

He said at one point Trump complained that some immigrants are from “shithole” countries and were poisoning the blood of pure whites.

“And of course you remember in the presidential debate where he accused people eating the dogs and the cats and the pets of people in certain areas.

“And in his earlier presidency he had complained that enough immigrants are not coming from white countries.” Professor Thompson noted that he shared the views of one of his panel colleagues that had Harris could never have made comments along the lines that Trump did.

“I recall a focus group discussion after a CNN debate which Trump did not attend and question of Harris’s “attack on Trump”, where she was beginning to call him out personally came and members of the focus group said Harris should leave that out, she shouldn’t be attacking him…but they said it is not like her to do so, so she shouldn’t do that. So what that really reflects is that there were different standards to which the candidates were being held,” Professor Thompson said.

He said in his view, the difference in standards had to do with race and gender and there are many theories when it comes to white supremacy in the United States of America (USA).

“The easy ride that Donald Trump has had during these elections is related in part to the assumption of superiority that the society gave him in relation to this Afro-Asian woman,” Professor Thompson concluded, while noting that although Trump won the chance to run while going up against other whites, the explanation to that is that he clobbered the Republican Party and was able to unleash a force of hostile people against anyone who opposed him and had the support of some media entities that made up stories on his opponents.

“So, in addition to being white, he is dishonest, but I suggest his dishonesty is often overlooked for the very fact of his race in the same way we can ask the question what would happen to Harris had she said some things Trump said,” the educator noted, while adding that there is forgiving of Trump that should be studied while going forward.

He noted as well that with Trump’s second term, the prospects of deportation and cuts to support for various programmes in Caribbean states is strong. Professor Thompson said he thinks that in order to put up with Trump, the world’s intellectuals would have to be more assertive, and challenge the attacks on democracy.

The forum on which Professor Thompson spoke was a joint initiative of the Office of the Vice-Chancellor, and the Department of Political Science at The UWI, St. Augustine Campus. It featured a diverse selection of speakers from across the region and The UWI who provided expert analysis of the election results, reactions, and potential repercussions, especially concerning the Caribbean region, in the context of a second Trump presidency.

Vice-Chancellor of The UWI, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles delivered the opening remarks, while the forum was chaired and moderated by Dr. Indira Rampersad, Head and Lecturer of Political Science/International Relations in the Department of Political Science at The UWI, St. Augustine.

Dr. Rampersad said persons witnessed an historic election, momentous because of the candidates, “one a highly controversial former president, and the other a relatively new kid on the block of mixed Indo-Jamaican heritage”.

She said the results evoked mixed reactions from the Caribbean community, “from surprise to shock, joy to dismay and disappointment, fear to relief, from blaming to shaming…few are indifferent and remain unscathed”.

The multi-disciplinary panel of experts also had Professor Hamid Ghany, Honorary Professor, Constitutional Affairs and Parliamentary Studies, SALISES, The UWI, St. Augustine; Professor Sheron Fraser-Burgess, Lecturer, Social Foundations/Multicultural Education, Ball State University; Professor Christopher A.D. Charles, Professor, Political and Social Psychology, Department of Government, The UWI and Mona; Dr. Kristina Hinds, Head, Department of Government, Sociology, Social Work and Psychology.

This session followed previous Vice-Chancellor fora that addressed contentious international relations topics, including The Grab for Gaza: The Israel-Palestine Conflict: Causes, Concerns, and Consequences in November 2023; and The Russian-Ukraine War: Geo-Strategic Perspectives, Interests, and Implications in June 2022.

Dr. Hinds said she too foresees some implications for undocumented immigrants in the USA, of whom Caribbean citizens represent four percent.