“Four years after his shock victory, U.S. President Donald Trump seems to be running on empty. Opinion polls predict a win for former Vice President Joe Biden. In some Democratic circles, the word ‘landslide’ is being jubilantly whispered. It seems that Trump is finally being judged on his performance, especially his calamitous response to the coronavirus pandemic. His Republican colleagues have begun to recoil from him. The president himself, already complaining about rigged elections, seems to be expecting defeat.”

“And it is too late for him to learn from two of his fellow elected autocrats and demagogues — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi — who continue to win elections despite presiding over multiple political and economic disasters. Unlike Trump, however, Modi and Erdogan have diversified their means of self-perpetuation. For one, they have been far more successful than the U.S. president in forging new realities for their audiences through conspiracy theories and fake news, which has helped them avoid crushing judgment on their performances. They not only mastered digital technology and social media, they’ve managed to control the legacy media through a regime of intimidation that has silenced and marginalized critics. Though successful in packing the Supreme Court, and assured of stalwart support from Fox News, Trump could not begin to imitate Modi and Erdogan’s long march through national institutions, from the education system and television channels to the military” – Pankaj Mishra.