Hindus And Trump Rallied Together In A Xenophobic Fever Dream
Grab a plate of good, oily pav bhaji and watch a well-loved Indian movie star perform for thousands of immigrants. He greets the crowd in Tamil, jokes about jet lag, shimmies, and shimmers in the hallucinogenic stage lighting; the crowd squeezes as close as security will allow. Then watch as presidential candidate Donald Trump takes the same stage minutes later, basking in the Bollywood afterglow, and rouses just as much applause. It feels like a warm family function somehow lapsing into a Klan rally, with all your favorite uncles and aunties unmasked as cheery bigots. It left me slack-jawed and numb.