Trump’s beloved Hindus don’t fancy his anti-Muslim rhetoric

EDISON (NEW JERSEY): It was a one-way conversation on Saturday night. Donald Trump spoke at an event hosted for him by the Republican Hindu Coalition, proclaimed

EDISON (NEW JERSEY): It was a one-way conversation on Saturday night. Donald Trump spoke at an event hosted for him by the Republican Hindu Coalition, proclaimed his love for Hindus, India and Indians, and left.

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But if he had stayed to hear what some in the audience wanted to say to him, he might have left a chastened man, or perhaps wiser about the people he loved: they strongly disapproved of his anti-Muslim rhetoric.

Most members of the audience interviewed by this reporter while waiting for Trump at the rally said they did not agree with his position on Muslims, and strongly disapproved of it.

This was noteworthy for an audience that the organisers had hoped, and tried, to rally using regulation stereotypes, such as depicting terrorists as men in Middle Eastern-style dress, speaking with a strange accent in a skit that ended with their death, and the singing of the American anthem. “That’s the most un-presidential thing he has done,” Ari Rangnathan, a Hindu and Republican of 40 years, said about Trump’s anti-Muslim remarks, making no attempt to conceal his distaste.

Trump’s position on Muslims was one of the reasons why Desai gave up on the Republican Party.

“Why paint the entire community black on account of a few?” he said. “There are many good Muslims.”

His wife, Kiran Desai, agreed, though she said she was willing to give Trump a pass on the 2005 tape that featured him bragging about kissing and groping women. “Not sure what was the state of his mind then, 11 years ago,” she said. Some Hindu Americans, such as New Jersey businessman Shailesh Dave, agreed with Trump’s view on Islamic terror. “Still, it’s not fair to go after the whole community,” he said.

A recent poll found 78% of Indian Americans — an estimated 51% to 81% of whom are said to be Hindus — disapproved of Trump’s position on Muslims. Kiran Gandhi dismissed the 2005 tape and allegations of sexual assault against Trump as “propaganda”. However, even he wasn’t with Trump on Muslims: “I disagree with Trump — not all Muslims are bad.”