Far too many similarities between Trump and Zuma

On the face of it, the only real connection between Donald Trump and Jacob Zuma is that they are both addressed as “Mr President”, especially now they are talking to one another.

But despite the vast gulf between the respective populations they hold sway over – upwards of 324.5 million Americans in Trump’s case against just short of 55 million South Africans under Zuma – there are some remarkable similarities between the two men.

Zuma, head of the ANC, rules a unitary parliamentary republic while Trump occupies the White House in a federal presidential constitutional republic. The systems are different by the mandates passed to the two men from the electorates but they are far from dissimilar.

Zuma relies on the largely rural and underprivileged grassroots ANC-for-life voters; Trump relies on the mainly blue collar electorate in the areas across the US where the decline of industry has left its debilitating mark.

Neither man, we would suggest, has the respect of or backing from the intelligentsia. Both are prone to adding a touch of bombast to their orations as Trump did with “Let’s make America great again” when he fought and ultimately beat Hillary Clinton. There are echoes there in the electioneering motto “Together we can move South Africa forward” the ANC and the DA fought so bitterly over employing as the rallying call for the respective parties.

There are also similarities in an apparent leaning towards making up the rules as they go along: Trump can claim a legion of high-profile diplomatic gaffes in this regard while Zuma, often equally iconoclastic on some issues, can change direction, as he seems to have done over the thorny issue of nuclear power, at the drop of a hat.

The prevailing question is: what do they have left to talk about?

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