Trump uses naturalisation event to woo immigrant voters, draws fire

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Tuesday came under criticism for using the White House pulpit for “political purposes” by presiding over a naturalisation ceremony where five immigrants, including Indian-origin software developer Sudha Sundari Narayanan, were sworn in as American citizens. The event was taped and broadcast later in the night to the virtual Republican National Convention, inviting charges that the move was in violation of the Hatch Act, which prohibits civil servants from using their title, office, or any sort of government resource while engaging in political activities.
Although it is not the first time Trump has presided over a naturalisation ceremony, the timing and the locale of the event, not to speak of placing an Indian at the centre, was seen as a move to court immigrant votes in an election where small margins and voting blocks will matter, particularly after Democrats pitchforked Kamala Harris as Joe Biden’s running mate. “Today America rejoices as we welcome five absolutely incredible new members into our great American family,” Trump told Sudha and immigrants from Lebanon, Bolivia, Sudan and Ghana who flanked her. “It’s not so easy. You went through a lot and we appreciate you being here with us today,” Trump said in an event ostensibly aimed at projecting an administration in favour of legal, orderly immigration.
The White House event came on Day Two of the Republican National Convention where first lady Melania Trump stirred considerable interest by acknowledging the “harsh reality” of racism in the US, a fact that many Trump supporters, including Indian-American Nikki Haley in her speech on Monday, deny. “Like all of you, I have reflected on the racial unrest in our country. It is a harsh reality that we are not proud of parts of our history,” Melania said. The remarks came even as the town of Kenosha in Wisconsin was in flames after rioting that followed the shooting of a black man by white cops. While some analysts praised the civil tone of her remarks, others pointed out that she was complicit in her husband’s anti-immigration policy, and his sowing of racist discord and xenophobia, including giving life to birther theories relating to Barack Obama and Harris.
While Trump Republicans expanded their outreach to minority and immigrant voting blocks, Democrats are trying to consolidate their traditional vote banks and calling out what they insist is a Republican bluff. “They are deploying suppressive voter ID laws, racial gerrymandering, voter roll purges, precinct closures and reduced early-voting days — all of which have been laser-targeted toward communities of colour,” Harris wrote in an oped on Wednesday as she launched a nationwide voter engagement programme for black women, and took part in a virtual event in Michigan called “Sister to Sister: Mobilisation in Action Programme.”
Former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton said seeing Trump presiding over the ceremony was “like watching a fox bless a henhouse”.
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