Donald Trump is the first Republican presidential candidate who was not a White House incumbent to carry the nation’s first two contests. His winning margin of 11% in moderate New Hampshire demonstrated his iron-clad control of the party’s hard-right base

By Kenneth Tiven

Donald Trump has spent four grievance-driven years warning America that he will be seeking retribution in 2024. Winning New Hampshire’s Republican primary moved him a step closer to regaining his White House job if can win a November election rematch with President Joe Biden. Finally, in just a two-person contest, Trump gained nearly 55% of the votes. Nikki Haley, an Indian-American daughter born in South Carolina to Sikh immigrants, finished with 44%.

America’s primary nominating elections are state matter and as such, a hodgepodge of various regulations. In New Hampshire in the New England region, registered Republicans and registered unaffiliated voters could vote. Registered Democrats had their own primary contest easily won by President Joe Biden. The results have to be viewed as less favourable to Trump in a general election.

Trump gained nearly 55% of the votes, with Haley attracting 44% in the first two-person match-up. This is a process to determine the ratio of state delegates for each presidential competitor at the national nominating conventions in the summer. Trump expects to be nominated by acclimation, thus his desire to wipe out opposition early. Essential because he faces the possibility of spending a great deal of the next ten months in courtrooms fighting criminal indictments for his involvement in a coup effort in Jan­uary 2021 to deny Joe Biden his election win. In exit polling, a majority of voters who described themselves as Trump supporters indicated that even if he was convicted on any of the charges against him, they still wanted him as president.

The history of surprise outcomes from New Hampshire’s independent voters wasn’t enough to break the spell Trump has over the Republican Party. Trump is the first Republican presidential candidate who was not a White House incumbent to carry the nation’s first two contests. His winning margin of 11% in moderate New Hampshire demonstrated his ironclad control of the party’s hard-right base. The US presidential season started with eight politicians engaged in debates, except for Trump who refused, continuing to deny he lost in 2020 to Biden. Trump always tries to dominate any situation. His core supporters treat him with devotion, right or wrong. This is customary among cult leaders in politics and religion.

Haley said she won’t drop out, saying: “This race is far from over.” The next primary is in late February in South Carolina where she previously was twice elected governor. Trump acknowledged his win gracelessly, calling Haley an “impostor,” appearing angry that she hadn’t bowed out, while saying, “I don’t get too angry. I get even.” For months, Haley was reluctant to criticize Trump, but in this past week has been polite, but delighted in pointing out that Trump is nearly 80 years old and showing obvious signs of being old, and so is President Biden, she is quick to add. After Trump’s victory speech, she described it in an email as a “furious and rambling rant,” asking: “If Trump is in such good shape, why is he so angry?”

Trump disagrees, telling the faithful that “this is not your typical victory speech.” He was miffed that Haley was celebratory about her finishing second, since he was hoping for her to withdraw. He criticized Haley and her top ally, Governor Chris Sununu, managing only a late and short thank you to the people of New Hampshire for delivering the victory.

The Trump campaign has worked to get all major Republican politicians in the state to back him not their former governor. Trump is dominant in that state’s polls: “I did hear Nikki say now it’s off to South Carolina. Well, I love South Carolina.” But Trump tells the crowd that Nevada is the next state on the calendar, but she is not competing there for delegates. She is taking part in the state-run primary rather than the Republican party-run caucus, one of the gambits manoeuvred into place by Trump’s control of the Republican Party anxious to avoid any conflicts in a hoped-for march to victory.

America’s Republican Political Party was born 270 years ago to fight slavery and the powerful white patriarchy that wanted slavery to be legal across the new and expanding nation, not just in the Southern agricultural region. With the 1860 election of Abra­ham Lincoln, a Republican, the civil war over slavery and the role of the national government, almost destroyed the USA. In the ensuing century, the two major political parties have effectively swapped political philosophies. Back then Democrats were the party of rich business and agricultural interests. Republicans then were liberal, progressive forces centered incites and large manufacturing states.

Biden did not run in the Democratic primary, but urged party faithful to “write in” his name. He won easily, saying: “It is now clear that Donald Trump will be the Republican nominee. The message to the country is the stakes could not be higher.” He thanked “all those who wrote my name in this evening in New Hampshire,” and added: “It was a historic demonstration of commitment to our democratic process.” Biden recognized independents and Republicans “who share our commitment to core values of our nation.”

Initial analysis of the voting trends indicated what we already understand about the US voters today. Celebrity politics have surpassed issue-based politics. Trump performed best in places with fewer college-educated voters, while Haley received more support in the areas that had more voters with degrees. 

—The writer has worked in senior positions at The Washington Post, NBC, ABC and CNN and also consults for several Indian channels

The devotion Republican voters of Iowa felt for Trump was evident when he got 51% of the vote count. But will this idolization help him get presidential immunity against his many legal issues?

By Kenneth Tiven

Terrible winter weather in Iowa did not interfere with the devotion Republican voters feel for their former president, who is seeking to win back the presidency in November 2024. More than half the people who caucused put Donald Trump’s name on a slip of paper as their choice to run in November for another four-year term as president of the United States. No amount of legal trouble or rage-filled outbursts about a “deep state” trying to imprison him matter to the faithful. They see a bond, whereas others see a dangerous cult. The essence of a cult is that it defies logic, and that is operative with Trump. 

Indian-American Nikki Haley, former governor of South Carolina, and Florida governor Ron DeSantis finished close to each other, a gain for her in terms of past performance; Vivek Ramaswamy, a biotech investor and an Indian-American, slipped into irrelevance and dropped out, endorsing Trump. The votes were as follows: Trump: 51.0%; DeSantis: 21.2% and Haley: 19.1%.

Analysis shows that the vast rural areas are strongly conservative, while the two major urban centres in Iowa are home to more moderate Republicans. That Trump is idolised by a percentage of Republican voters is not news. Context helps one to understand the recent votes. Weather played a role in keeping attendance down to 1,10,300 of an estimated 3,00,000+ Republicans registered to vote in Iowa. Lack of interest, political apathy…dozens of reasons exist for skipping this event. By comparison, 1,86,000 people caucused in 2020. But it’s just as likely that a substantial percentage of voters of all parties are more discerning in how a national leader should behave.

Democrats also held in-person caucuses on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, with no ex­pression of presidential preference. Democrats are holding a mail-in ballot process, with results to be announced on Super Tuesday in March.

The Republican race for the 2024 presidential nomination began months ago with a surprisingly large field, but has rapidly winnowed down to this trio. Leading up to a US presidential election, Republicans and Democrats hold contests in each state to decide who their nominee will be. The winner in each state sends delegates who vote at the party conventions in the summer to choose the national nominee. The state elections are usually called primaries with a simple vote, but in some states, primarily Iowa, the election is based on a must-attend meeting format, after which people fill out paper slips naming their favourite.

Next week in New Hampshire, in the nation’s northeast corner, there is a possibility of bad weather. For Republicans, this is essentially a beauty pageant for the vice president for 2024. Trump’s quest is for a measure of presidential immunity against his many state and federal legal issues. That is not all that is at stake. Republican leadership is clear that it wants a Hungarian-style “democracy”, which is a dictatorship wearing a veil called “elections”.

The Iowa caucus is an artifact of 20th-century politics that tried to involve citizens in the nominating process. This farming state’s population is 3.2 million, larger than Pune and smaller than Hyderabad. It is one of the smallest US states by population. Around 95% of its citizens were born in Iowa, 84% are white. Demographics that do not represent the nation today.

Trump has ignored the Republican Party debates to emphasise that he controls the Party, making its officers powerless. However, his multiple legal problems will keep him in courthouses instead of at rallies courting voters (see box).

The Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, is learning that what plays well in Florida will underperform in the other 49 states. Voters recognise that while his policies are Trumpian, he lacks the charm and guile of Trump. Retail politics—differentiated from understanding policy and responsibility—have become essential elements of national political success for Republicans. For example, Trump fans talk about his strength and fortitude, whereas others describe a narcissistic bully with little grasp of serious issues.

Haley is close to DeSantis going into next week’s New Hampshire primary election (another small rural state) and is polling well there. She may be hoping to gain the vice presidential slot. Better yet if Trump is denied the ballot under a constitutional prohibition for involvement in the January 6, 2021, insurrection, in which case she’d be considered a logical presidential candidate.

Her campaign advertisement in New Hampshire asks. “Who are the two most disliked politicians in America”, and answers: “Trump & Biden”. She calls them two men “consumed by chaos, negativity and grievances of the past”. She might be correct, but does it matter?

People gave speeches supporting each candidate at the meetings in the 99 county precincts that make up Iowa. A young woman speaking for Trump said: “He’s very honest and forward.” Jessica Lewis explained that she wants “justice for the people to get what America needs back in this country. Safety. Connections. Better borders to keep drugs and gangs out. I believe we should protect what we have and make it stronger.” 

For Trump, the outcome in Iowa was never in doubt. Courthouse events, however, are not so positive. Three female judges heard the immunity case. Patriarchy isn’t what it used to be at that level. At the Washington DC Federal Court of Appeals, Trump’s lawyers faced withering questions about their proposition that a president has absolute immunity for anything. Asked, could a president be prosecuted if he ordered the assassination of another candidate? The answer was a “qualified yes”, but only after being impeached and convicted. The fact is that impeachment is not a legal process, but a political one for the Congress to use internally escaped consideration.

Trump makes personal loyalty an essential element of his often disjointed moments of rage while speaking at a rally. Haley is increasingly a target. She was the ambassador to the UN selected by Trump early in his tenure, but whatever he liked then is long gone. “I’m working for you, and she’s working for a lot of other people. People that don’t necessarily love our country so much,” Trump told a rally.

At one rally, he repeated his false claim that the 2020 election was “rigged”. Trump took credit for Iowa’s first-in-the-nation status and claimed that “nobody took better care of the farmers than Trump”. The caucus system started in the late 1960s to give people more power over candidate choice. Trump was barely out of college then and too busy learning the real estate business from his dad in New York City to be aware of politics in Iowa. 

Despite being president for four years, he sought to portray himself as a political outsider. He described Washington as a “rat-infested, graffiti-infested s—hole”. Focusing on a frequent theme of victimhood, he restated his allegations of a weaponised judicial system as he faces 91 criminal charges and four indictments. (Special counsel Jack Smith and Attorney General Merrick Garland have said Smith’s prosecutions were made independently of the White House, by Justice Department rules on special counsels.)

Trump’s rage at his continuing setbacks in court underlines this issue. In recent weeks, Trump has raged against several legal cases that threaten to cost him hundreds of millions of dollars, which he may not have, and the loss of his business empire, which would be the ultimate penalty for a man who says he hates losers.

He believes winning the presidency will bring back a measure of presidential immunity. The Supreme Court can either consider it or reject it, claiming the Appeals Court must first finish its ruling on the matter.

Interviews reported by The New York Times pointed out that some voters across the state are unhappy with their choices and feel that they’re moving through the motions in a simulation game. “He’s not shaking hands, and he’s not taking questions,” Bob Beatty, a political science professor at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas, reportedly said. “Trump is campaigning as an incumbent, and it’s half working. And if you get half, that’s it.”

David Kochel, a longtime Iowa political strategist, predicted about 1,50,000 Iowans would show up on voting day, a figure in line with historical norms, but still just about 25% of the registered Republicans in the state. He cited Trump’s lead and the weather as the biggest factors. 

Encapsulating the local malaise—albeit from the anti-Trump perspective—the Raygun clothing store in Des Moines is selling T-shirts with the slogan: “Election 2024: You’d think battling a fascist takeover of America would spark more interest from people.”

—The writer has worked in senior positions at The Washington Post, NBC, ABC and CNN and also consults for several Indian channels

By Kenneth Tiven

A personal feud rarely breaks out in public among our politicians, but it is impossible to overlook the mutual disdain spilling into open view, turning an otherwise substantive debate into political blood sport. There was no artifice to it, no phony attempts to feign collegiality. Just pure, unadulterated loathing. I mean, hearing Nikki Haley say: “You’re just scum,” is not something one politician generally says to another, although nobody can gainsay Haley’s assessment of Vivek Ramaswamy, who seems to have gotten up the noses of millions in his brief time on the national stage.

At 51, Haley is the dutiful Gen X candidate. And Ramaswamy is the best-in-class, wise-guy millennial. Haley is a product of the “New South,” a former governor of a South Carolina on the rise. Ramaswamy was born and raised in Ohio, the Midwestern kid made good. Where Ramaswamy is the flashy entrepreneur from Harvard Yard, Haley, a Clemson University graduate, would be the state school “accountant in the White House”. 

The National Review website, a traditional conservative publication, described Ramaswamy’s performance and remarks as “cringe-worthy”. TikTok got Ramaswamy into serious trouble. In defending his own use, he said that Haley’s 25-year-old daughter used to be on the app. Involving a candidate’s child is considered unfair in US politics (Republicans do not consider Hunter Biden a child).

Haley reacted fiercely. “Leave my daughter out of your voice,” Haley sneered. “Just scum”, she added. At an earlier debate, she had ridiculed Ramaswamy, saying: “Every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber for what you say.” After the debate, Haley said: “Look, I’m a mom, so the second that you go and you start saying something about my 25-year-old daughter, I’m going to get my back up. But it’s not even the personal part—there are serious differences I have with him.”

Ramaswamy uses language to provoke. He told the debate: “We got trounced last night in 2023. And I think that we have to have accountability in our party,” which lost elections in Ohio, Virginia and Kentucky earlier this month. However, his focus seemed be on Haley who had accused him previously of using the Chinese-owned app. “She made fun of me for actually joining TikTok while her own daughter was actually using the app for a long time,” he claimed. 

She wasn’t his only target. Ramaswamy also accused Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy of being a Nazi. He described territory in eastern Ukraine as Russian, failing to note Moscow had seized it illegally in 2014. The National Review said: “It is fair enough to point out the flaws and failings of Ukraine, but there is no moral equivalence between Kyiv and its Russian invader.” The website summed it up: “Ramaswamy outdid himself last night with cringe-inducing theatrics meant to light up a segment of right-wing social media.” 

—The writer has worked in senior positions at The Washington Post, NBC, ABC and CNN and also consults for several Indian channels

By Kenneth Tiven

Vivek Ramaswamy used a breakout performance at the first Republican debate to demonstrate his rhetorical imitation of ex-president Donald Trump’s ideology and belligerence. Fellow panellists fixated on his lack of political experience, but Ramaswamy emerged the star of the show. The paradox is obvious: America has voted a businessman with no political experience as president earlier. 

Ramaswamy’s run comes at a time when American politics is in ferment. Last week, a phone poll asked me for an opinion on the unprecedented multiple indictments of the ex-president. It felt like the wrong question. What is unprecedented is Trump’s alleged criminal behaviour and his non-stop insistence he won in 2020.

A new poll from Politico Magazine/Ipsos finds Trump’s indictments are not good news, politically or individually regarding his re-election. A majority—61%—of Americans want his trials to be held before the election and 51% believe he should go to prison if convicted. Politico notes that a substantial minority of Americans—about a third—say they’re not that familiar with the charges against Trump, especially in the classified documents illegally taken home to Mar-a-Lago. This is an evidentiary matter which suggests there’s plenty of latitude for deepening pessimism on the part of voters as the more serious indictments are litigated in the months ahead. A deeper look at the numbers shows that while 26% believe he is not guilty, 22% say they don’t know. Bottom line math: the official Republican Party public line—that Trump is innocent and the prosecutions are an abuse of power—appeal to perhaps just over 20% of the population, regardless of how much noise they make about this.

Meanwhile, the man making the most noise and media attention is Ramaswamy. He exudes certitude, the personal belief he has the skills, policies, and personality the position requires. His polling numbers spiked following the debate, but since then the numbers have barely moved. Perhaps, because Trump’s legal entanglements have sucked up most of the political oxygen in America, as well as Republican donations to help pay his legal bills. Ramaswamy’s political pronouncements seem more thoughtful since the debate accomplished what he needed there. His willingness to compare some prominent Black American leaders to Ku Klux Klan wizards was shocking. Yet his support for Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine was less so because isolationism has been an animating tenant of conservative thinking in the US with opposition to involvement in both World Wars One and Two.

Nikki Haley, the Indian-American former governor of South Carolina, criticized Ramaswamy as having no understanding of foreign policy, perhaps having forgotten about GOP opposition to defending Europe against fascism. Haley opened her debate with a courageous denunciation of Trump and his policies, saying: “Donald Trump added $8 trillion to our debt, and our kids are never going to forgive us for this.” Yet two hours later, she said she would support Trump if he were the Republican nominee, notwithstanding his multiple legal indictments and any possible convictions. So much for consistent courage. An American comedian and social critic said: “When I was younger, I lied all the time, because once you understand the power of lying, it’s really like magic because you transform reality for people.” This thinking, amplified by constant repetition, has become a hallmark of political expression. 

In 2016, consider that Republicans endlessly shouted for Hillary Clinton to be locked up for having a personal email server. This year, the trope that won’t stop is President Biden’s age and health. Trump, a relative youngster at 77, spent a day raging against judges, prosecutors and Biden while posting 102 social media comments, including 31 video clips of himself. Social network poster Ron Filipkowski said: “Pretty comical to hear the Projection King say about Biden: ‘I believe that he has gone mad. A stark raving lunatic.’”  

Biden will be heading for India for a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Modi before the G-20 Summit in New Delhi. 

Then there is Republican senate leader Mitch McConnell, who just had a second episode of freezing up for more than 30 seconds, standing motionless in mid-sentence at a press conference. He’s 81. The trope that Biden is mentally and physically impaired is an exaggeration repeated endlessly as if the stressed physical and mental condition of former president Trump was somehow not obvious to millions of people watching him on television.

Into this fermenting cask of misinformation, it is no surprise that Vivek Ramaswamy is capable of contradicting himself from day to day on policy issues, American history, and his accomplishments as a businessman. Many media sources will repeat untruths to an audience now addicted to consuming only information with which they agree. 

Meanwhile, the former president waived his arraignment and pleaded not guilty to the Georgia state racketeering conspiracy charges against him. He wants nothing to do with a speedy trial in Georgia as several of the other 18 indicted persons desire. His chief of staff Mark Meadows wants his case moved to a federal court in an effort to improve his chances for getting the case dismissed. In Washington convicted Oath Keepers, Proud Boys and other paramilitary types involved in the January 6 insurrection at the capitol received substantial prison sentences for their part.

Trying to elevate the fear of a Biden victory, Jeff Roe, an advisor to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, says that Biden will defeat Trump in November because of Trump fatigue, the abortion and gun issues. He warns that a Biden sweep will make Republicans a permanent minority party because Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia will become the 51st and 52nd states, thereby giving Democrats long term control of Congress. 

The media has whistled past the graveyard of democracy for eight years. It begs the question: Can’t they recognize this is not simply another election to be gamified in pursuit of clicks and audience ratings? 

As for Ramaswamy, he has toned down his earlier rhetoric, but is still making some controversial statements, using social media as an election tool. In his latest X (Twitter) post he said: “Faith, patriotism, hard work and family are on the decline. That leaves a moral vacuum in its wake. Climateism, Covidism, transgenidology fill the void. We need to fill that void with truth.” He is also, as he describes it, “anti-wokeism,” and says that he is in the US presidential race because he expects to be the Republican nominee and lead the country forward. He’s certainly not lacking in confidence, but his shoot-from-the-hip style of answering questions could become a problem. 

—The writer has worked in senior positions at The Washington Post, NBC, ABC and CNN and also consults for several Indian channels

By Kenneth Tiven in Washington

Donald Trump’s bid to win the Republican nomination for US president in 2024 has been challenged by Indian-American politician Nikki Haley, the daughter of a Sikh family that emigrated to South Carolina before she was born. She is seeking the Republican nomination by being politically close to Trump without the boorish bombastic personality he demonstrates.

The former South Carolina governor served in the Trump administration as ambassador to the United Nations. She is the second announced candidate for president in 2024. The likely third candidate is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who makes no secret of his desire to be elected president, but hasn’t declared officially, preferring to focus on right-wing issues in Florida.

If Trump survives his current and growing list of legal problems, he will have a built-in advantage. The top vote-getter in all GOP primaries gets all that state’s convention delegates. In a three-way race, this works to the ex-president’s benefit. Democrats use a proportional system.

Trump is on a Georgia prosecutor’s radar. The Atlanta prosecutor used a special investigating grand jury to probe possible criminal interference in the 2020 election in Georgia. President Trump had made a phone call demanding the state election boss find 11,000 votes to make Trump the winner there. This grand jury heard testimony from or involving 75 witnesses, almost all in person and under oath. It also heard investigators’ testimonies and examined digital and physical media, including the call recording itself. A partial transcript of the jury findings was released recently. Under Georgia law, an investigating grand jury cannot bring indictments.

The grand jury found “by a unanimous vote that no widespread fraud took place in the Georgia 2020 presidential election.” It also reported that “[a] majority of the Grand Jury believes that perjury may have been committed by one or more witnesses testifying before it,” and it asked the district attorney to “seek appropriate indictments for such crimes where the evidence is compelling.” 

Meanwhile, the Justice Department is moving to compel Trump’s lawyers in the case of a document to testify regardless of attorney-client privilege based on the “crime-fraud exception” to that privilege. This suggests that the end is close in one aspect of the documents subpoena matter, with possible criminal charges, including an obstruction of justice claim. By invoking the “crime-fraud exception”, federal lawyers probably have clear and convincing evidence that a Trump lawyer was involved in conduct that furthered an ongoing crime when he responded to the DOJ and the National Archives’ attempts to retrieve classified documents from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home and club in Palm Beach.

Nikki Haley’s announcement to take on Trump as a Republican candidate was not that much of a surprise. She has made no secret of her political ambitions. Nimrata Nikki Randhawa was born in Bamberg, South Carolina, to immigrant Sikh parents from Amritsar district of Punjab. Her father had been a professor at Punjab Agricultural University. Her mother has a law degree from the University of Delhi and an American master’s degree in education. She taught for seven years in Bamberg public schools. Haley has a sister and two brothers. She graduated from Clemson University with a degree in accounting.

In both Sikh and Methodist ceremonies in September 1996, Nikki Randhawa married Michael Haley. The couple have a daughter and a son. Haley converted to Christianity in 1997. She and her husband regularly attend the United Methodist Church. She also attends Sikh services once or twice a year. She visited the Harmandir Sahib with her husband in 2014 on a visit to India. 

Asked by a Christian magazine interviewer if she hopes her parents convert to Christianity, Haley responded: “What I hope is that my parents do what’s right for them.” Her husband is an officer in the South Carolina Army National Guard. While she governed, he spent 2013 in Afghanistan.

Asked recently by Fox News host Sean Hannity where she differed politically from Trump, she spent two minutes explaining she is a generational change candidate and had nothing to say about Trump. Reportedly, she has not spoken with Trump on or since the insurrection attack of January 6, 2021. Asked if Trump is a friend, she stated that “Friend is a loose term”. 

A year ago, she told The Wall Street Journal, “Most of Mr. Trump’s major policies were outstanding and made America stronger, safer and more prosperous. Many of his actions since the election were wrong and will be judged harshly by history…I will gladly defend the bulk of the Trump record and his determination to shake up the corrupt status quo in Washington.”

She is clearly conscious of the reality that she needs those MAGA voters to win a primary or national election. She wants to sound like a commercial for a soft drink called Trump, but with less calories, to be sort of the unTRUMP. As a daughter of immigrants, she believes that immigration laws should be enforced. 

As UN ambassador, Haley discovered the complexities of international diplomacy were very different from being a state governor. In December 2017, Haley accused Iran of backing the Houthi rebels in Yemen. The Houthis were fighting the Saudi-backed Hadi government. She said that the “fight against Iranian aggression is the world’s fight.” Iranian UN mission spokesman Alireza Miryusefi said in response: “These accusations seek also to cover up for the Saudi war crimes in Yemen, with the US complicity, and divert attention from the stalemate war of aggression against the Yemenis.” In January 2018, she supported President Trump’s withholding aid to Palestinians through the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).

Her biggest faux pas came in April 2018 when she failed to disclose to both President Trump and the American people that several US military members deployed in support of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) were wounded in a large complex attack in Timbuktu. She resigned as the UN ambassador in October 2018.

In 2012, Haley credited Hillary Clinton with inspiring her to run for office, stating in an interview that, “the reason I actually ran for office is because of Hillary Clinton… She said that when it comes to women running for office, there will be everybody that tells you why you shouldn’t, but that’s all the reasons why we need you to do it, and I walked out of there thinking, ‘That’s it. I’m running for office.’” 

—The writer has worked in senior positions at The Washington Post, NBC, ABC and CNN and also consults for several Indian channels