Popularity contest: Trump trumps Kim to win hearts in Vietnam

HANOI — As “The Beast” limousine carrying United States president Donald Trump travelled through the streets of Hanoi on Tuesday night, hordes of Vietnamese turned out to catch a glimpse of the man whom they admire for being “strong and wealthy”, “talented” and “decisive”.

While the jury may still be out on Mr Trump’s presidency given the scandals that he has been embroiled in since taking over the White House in 2016, that did not seem to matter to many of the locals who had stayed up to watch his convoy pull into the luxury JW Marriott hotel.

In fact, there appears to be an admiration here for Mr Trump, who received a warmer reception from locals as compared to his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong-un.

‘I LOVE YOU, PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP’

Law student Do Anh Duc told TODAY that some of his countrymen admire Mr Trump’s success as a businessman and place “money over good character”.

“People can overlook scandals as they admire people who have the means that they have not achieved,” said the 25-year-old.

“Everybody can be a doofus every now and then. It is not a big deal here, where billionaires are more highly regarded than politicians.”

Read also

Perhaps, their perception of Mr Trump as a “man’s man” has also boosted his appeal, added Mr Duc.

“He makes decisions without consulting others. He doesn’t care about others talking badly about him. He probably makes them feel like his personality reminded them of their fathers, and found the figure to be even more likeable.”

Among the crowd gathered outside the Marriott hotel on Tuesday night was jewellery businessman Hung Cuu Long, 47, who stood out with his homemade banner and homage — emblazoned with the words “I love you, President Donald J Trump” — to the American leader.

“I followed Trump due to his wealth. As time went on, I discovered more about Trump, and saw how he handled his big family well. His family oozes grace and power,” he said.

Artist Tran Lam Binh, 37, has been a fan of Mr Trump since 2015 when the latter stepped off a faux-golden escalator and officially announced his candidacy for the presidency. Mr Binh said he is “drawn to his steadfast personality” and has produced close to 100 paintings of Mr Trump since then.

“He remains keen on his ideas even though many oppose him for standing his ground. I can identify as I have chosen the path of an artist, which drew so many negative comments from my family. Success comes when you do something different.”

TRUMP VS OBAMA

As the two leaders’ motorcades rolled into town ahead of the Feb 27 and 28 summit, it appeared that Mr Trump was leading the popularity polls among the Vietnamese.

Some locals such as Mr Duc were keen to distance themselves from the country’s Communist past and Mr Kim.

When asked why Mr Kim was not more respected for his Communist values, Mr Duc said: “People need to stop asking us these Communist questions. We are not that anymore.

“We are a free and developing country. Vietnam’s economy is enjoying rapid growth right now and there is a lot more room to grow.”

Once rated as one of the world’s poorest countries after the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, Vietnam has since transformed itself into a bustling economy rivalling that of China’s — it recorded a decade high 7.1 per cent year-on-year growth last year, exceeding China’s 6.6 per cent growth.

With the denuclearisation of North Korea expected to be a key focus of the two-day summit, some are also looking to Mr Trump to lead the push for peace during the US’ talks with the hermit nation.

Retiree Nguyen Trung Chinh, 59, had waited by the roadside for over an hour to catch a glimpse of Mr Trump’s entourage.

“He wants peace. He wants business. All countries are equal when it comes to commerce, so let’s improve our economy together,” he said.

Agreeing, craft beer specialist Nguyen Thanh Cong, 30, said that Mr Trump is a “straightforward man who cares about peace, especially for the Koreans”.

An opinion poll conducted by American non-partisan think-tank Pew Research Center in 2017 showed that Vietnam was among seven of 37 countries surveyed with a pro-Trump majority.

Fifty-eight per cent of the individuals polled indicated their confidence that Mr Trump would “do the right thing” by them in international affairs — the global median was 22 per cent.

Mr Trump may be the man of the moment in Hanoi, but there is one American president who won Vietnamese hearts before the former’s visit this month.

In 2016, Mr Barack Obama’s dinner visit to a no-frills bun cha (a Vietnamese dish of grilled pork and noodle) eatery with celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain endeared the former president to many in, as well as outside, the country.

Ms Nguyen Thi Lien, co-owner of that eatery, Bun Cha Huong Lien, still remembers Mr Obama fondly as he was “friendly to all” and shook the hands of many people in her shop.

“He had no airs at all. Such a people’s person,” she said, remarking that she did not think Mr Trump would be coming to her restaurant as it is “not posh”.

Others such as Ms Mai Hoa and Ms Le Thu, both 43, were also impressed with Mr Obama then. The two women live close to the Marriott hotel, where the former US leader also stayed in 2016, and witnessed him shaking hands with the locals and buying Vietnamese sweet treats from a nearby roadside store. “We were impressed with Mr Obama then. I don’t know what to feel about Mr Trump so far,” said Ms Hoa.

But Ms Thu was just happy to have an American president in her hometown. “I love all US presidents. I don’t have any discrimination between the two (Mr Trump and Mr Obama). I love them equally.”