Berani dalam Benar : Another karma moment for Mr Not-so-Nice Guy

The alleged attempt to assassinate the US President last week is indeed very tragic.  Since 2024, this is the third attempt, exceeding that of previous presidents. But the “karma” seems unmistakeable. President Trump for example, was often quoted to threaten Iran to the extent of wiping off its civilisation, forever. This means all Iranians are targeted exploiting the world’s most sophisticated arms costing millions of dollars. Right now, more than USD25 billion has been wasted to support such rhetoric. One cannot imagine how the entire nation will respond to such frequent life-threatening ruthless remarks. Especially after the latest – “NO MORE MR. NICE GUY” message! Alongside with an AI-generated image of Trump holding a deadly weapon, with various explosions in the background! In a previous Truth Social post, he said: “Iran has just informed us they are ‘in a state of collapse’.

In the context of April 25 at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington, that AI-generated image could have been of one Cole Tomas Allen, the man who allegedly whizzed through the checkpoint in the Washington Hilton Hotel. He was later identified as the suspect whom Trump claimed made him the target of the attack. Allen, a California resident, about 31 years, graduate of California Institute of Technology was apprehended, reportedly armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives. While his motivation was not clear, at the end of it all, Trump was spared from being “wiped off” when he and the first lady were rushed out of the dinner but not before the chaotic events raised fresh questions about the state of security for top US officials. How can a suspected lone gunman smuggle the shotgun into the hotel, which officially accommodated some 2600 guests, many members of Trump’s cabinet and other senior administration officials. In 1981, the scene of an attempt on the life of President Ronald Reagan, who was shot and wounded by a would-be assassin at the same hotel making similar repeats highly “contested”. This is nowhere near what is referred to by the “Mr Nice Guy.”

Still around the world, many leaders condemned the attack, with some adding that “violence” had no place in a democracy. This is after more than 60 days when US launched an unprovoked “violence” as the most mature “democracy” on February 28 causing the death of the then Iranian leader, as well as some 170 school students who were separately killed by a Tomahawk by the US counterpart. The latter case, is still not satisfactorily explained despites several global authorities urging urgent accountability. Where then are the condemnation! What about the attempt to “buy over” Greenland, or “invading” Venezuela, or apparently Cuba next, apart from the whims to impose tariffs, now billed “undemocratic” by the US courts? All these random examples focused on coercing a dubious world view rather than building on common values shared by humanity at large! A “violence” that is likened to the “law of the jungle,” where might is always right!

In fact, according to Sir David Manning, who served as Britain’s top diplomat to America during the Iraq War, as reported by The i Paper, even the transatlantic bilateral relationship is currently under great strain. We’ve had plenty of ups and downs over the years but basically, we shared a common outlook. And we’ve shared values that underpinned that outlook, whatever our differences on specific issues.

“That’s not the case with the Trump administration, … Trump’s approach is transactional, not values-based.” This is not surprising, as since early last month, one Candace Owens, long known for her strong support of Trump, took an unusually sharp turn in her rhetoric, declaring, “This is a satanic administration … and Congress needs to move to have the Mad King Trump removed.” The language is said to be stark not just for its intensity, but more so in calling out the failure to unite the divisive and rowdy legislative body even among themselves.  

In contrast, Sir David said the monarch was a “highly accomplished diplomat” serving as an indispensable lever for the British Government to try to stabilise its rocky relationship with the White House. During the address – only the second delivered by a British monarch, first by a King – to a joint session of Congress, the monarch received 12 separate ovations, which Manning deemed as “an opportunity to remind both the US President and a wider American audience of the depth of the joint commitment on both sides of the Atlantic to the defence of democratic values.” Let alone the entire world.

Still, this may not be the end as the US president reacting to a media report that suggests him and King Charles III are 15th cousins through a shared Scottish ancestor, John Stewart, the 3rd Earl of Lennox. Could this ultimately reduce the strain, is hard to tell! Another karma moment is more likely!

 It always seems impossible until it is done          Nelson Mandela (1918-2013)