Why candidate Trump and President Trump will be poles apart?

Donald Trump the US Republican hopeful has been having an eventful campaign. His statements have taken almost all by storm and many believe he is the man who will eradicate radical Islamic terrorism.

Some in India also have pinned their hopes on him following his statement at April 28th Indianapolis Town Hall meeting where he said that he would seek India's help to address the 'problem' of a 'semi-unstable' nuclear-armed Pakistan.

While there are many welcome statements made by Trump during his campaign, the question is can he live up to all that he has been saying if he is elected President of the United States of America.

History has shown that there is always a difference between a candidate and a President. OneIndia spoke with former Research and Analysis Wing officer, V Balachandran to get his views on what one could expect from Donald Trump in case he wins.

Hopes may be illusory

On April 28 at Indianapolis during a town hall meeting of Trump hinted at seeking help from India and other nations to address the 'problem' of a 'semi-unstable' nuclear-armed Pakistan".

Balachandran says that one must not also forget the March 3 debate at Detroit where he had said that the US must keep its troops in Afghanistan to protect Pakistan's nuclear arsenal.

Trump's outbursts had provoked former CIA Director Michael Hayden to say that the American military would refuse to obey him if he gets elected and orders them to torture prisoners or kill the families of terrorists.

Balachandran says that a campaign rhetoric in any country including America is just barnstorming and is normally forgotten after the elections.

Bill Clinton did it too

In 1992, Bill Clinton during his campaign assured a group of Pakistani students in USA that he would support "self determination" in Kashmir. This led to the publicity machinery in Pakistan to go on an overdrive and announced that if Clinton is elected he would support Kashmir plebiscite.

Balachandran points out that this however did not happen during his tenure between 1993 and 2001.

In the year 1993 a Khalistan activist had sought an endorsement from the President for a democratic self determination to form Khalistan. The activist received a response with the signature of the President that the US always supported democracy and self determination.

The Khalistan lobby advertised this as a support from the US for a separate Sikh state although there was never any such mention in the letter.

The effects on the war on terror

Michael Kugelman, Senior Associate for South and Southeast Asia Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars had said in an interview earlier that the kneejerk response is that President Trump would be a disaster for the war on terror because his anti-Muslim rhetoric would radicalize many and lead to more terror attacks.

In fact, there are reports that ISIS has already used his speeches in its recruitment pitches. The thing is, however, that we don't know if President Trump would be identical to Candidate Trump. We really don't know what Trump would do.

His views have never been particularly consistent, and he may well dial down some of the nasty rhetoric. He may well try to rebuild bridges around the world that he has already managed to burn.

But we simply don't know. And perhaps the uncertainty of it all makes the whole situation seem all that more scary and troubling.