April 1, the official day of pulling cons, is here, and the “officially smart” are busy planning new cons on unsuspecting, or in some cases anticipating, fools. The more elaborate the con, the more appreciation it garners from the fools, or in general terms, the masses. What makes this game really intriguing is the length of time a con can carry on for—hours, minutes, days, months or years—and the number of times the same con can be played. The golden rule is, no offence should be taken. None whatsoever. It is with this rule in mind that political leaders, across continents, play this fool’s game over and over again. And this year, the con is ever so elaborate, at every level, and involves much higher stakes, especially in the case of the US and India.

Take Trump for starters. His ‘Make America Great Again’ initiative was the perfect pitch to build a narrative for ‘Trump Again’ in the presidential elections last November. People voted him to power believing in his promises of cutting down prices, mass deporting of illegal immigrants, blanket tariffs on neighbouring countries to strengthen the US economy and ending the Russia-Ukraine war. For middle class Americans, struggling against inflation and unemployment, Trump policies held the promise of the utopian American dream, which states that every person has the freedom and opportunity to succeed and........

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