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Well… there we are then. I’ve predicted the outcome of two major votes this year and been wrong about both of them. I’m not sure what to say. Perhaps there is nothing to say, other than to warn the reader never to take advice from me on lottery numbers or business investments.
America, as you’ll now be aware, has just elected Donald J Trump to the highest office in the land. And with the GOP also triumphant in both houses of Congress, for the next four years, the New York billionaire will have an almost unprecedented level of control over the mechanisms of Western government,
This is the beginning of what will inevitably be referred to by historians as the ‘Trump Era’ – a four-to-eight year period dominated by the decisions and personality of a single, remarkable man.
I am both pleased and nervous about the result. As someone who made the case for Trump (as best I could on a UK-based blog), my satisfaction with the unexpected success of the Republican is naturally tempered with unease and foreboding.
Trump is not a perfect man – far from it. Many of the criticisms made by his opponents over the past 12 months (or was it lifetimes) were perfectly valid and based in solid fact. He is often boorish, unpredictable, erratic and – in some key ways – he is inexperienced. No matter how passionate your support for his reign may be, you cannot sensibly deny that his election represents a gamble.
But it was a gamble the people of America were forced by circumstance to make. The elite, which includes the press, has lost all contact with, and respect for, the ordinary population of the United States. Unless a US citizen lives in New York or Los Angeles, he simply doesn’t matter to the decision-making class. His voice, projected at a polite volume, is muffled to a whisper by distance, farmland and poverty. On Nov. 8th, therefore, he was left with no choice but to shout, to shout so loud that windows were broken, and so they have been.
Hillary Clinton prepares to give her concession speech in New York
Those members of the global elite currently tearing their expensively shampooed hair out have no right to be surprised by what has happened. How could their disregard and arrogance have led to any other destination? Trump was and is a shock of history, but he was not an unforeseeable one.
Nevertheless, the shockwaves of the election result have been palpable. Jonathan Freedland, a normally level-headed liberal commentator, spoke for many in the London-New York-LA bubble when he wrote (in an article dramatically entitled ‘Will Donald Trump Destroy America?’) “What if (Trump) goes ahead and deports 11.3 million undocumented migrants? What if he really does ban all Muslims entering the country? What if he tries to use the powers of the state to go after media organisations that have criticised him – making life difficult for the businesses that own inquisitive newspapers such as the Washington Post, for example – as he has said he will? What if he overturns abortion rights, even imposing “some form of punishment” on a woman who terminates a pregnancy, as he once suggested? And what if he really does build that wall?… There are plenty who believe that if Trump went ahead and actually implemented his programme, he would create a different country: closed, xenophobic and at odds with some of the founding principles – religious equality or freedom of speech – that have defined the United States since its founding. The country would still exist – but it would no longer be America.”
Freedland’s words may be misguided, but his tone is surely appropriate. This really is a major turning point in American history – a second American revolution, if you will. By the time Trump has finished his work, however that goes, America will be a drastically changed place. There are so many differences between his approach and that of his predecessors that such an outcome is irresistible.
Donald Trump, unlike Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and practically every president stretching back to the Eisenhower administration, is an Americanist. He believes that America, despite its size and power, is a real, flesh and blood country – with real, flesh and blood people living in it. America is not, to him, an idea, a hope, or a ‘dream’. It is a pulsating, living, breathing reality. If one thing divides him from the presidents of the recent past, it is that his focus is largely limited by loyalty and affection to and toward the United States (and those countries like it – *I was greatly encouraged to hear Mr Trump describe the UK as a special friend this week).
Donald Trump is not a neo-con, preoccupied with the security prospects of the Saudis, Turks and Qataris. He looks at the world with the purity of the patriot; an honest, crystalline simplicity. To him, something is either good for America, or not. That seems to be his only consideration.
I do understand and appreciate that many parts of the world (and parts of America) will be unnerved by Trump’s election. This is only inevitable. Change always brings anxiety. Nevertheless, such places and people must be calm and reasonable enough to give the president-elect a chance to show his governing style before jumping to rash conclusions.
In Israel, there is some stress over President Trump’s words regarding the conflict with the Palestinians. Back in the primary debates, Mr Trump shocked the gathered by stating that it wasn’t helpful to pick a side in foreign conflicts and that he would, as president, strive to be more fair-minded. Since then, Trump has reconfirmed his intention to make a ‘deal’ on the Israel-Palestine face-off. What does he mean by this? What kind of ‘deal’ does he have in mind? We have no way of knowing, so worrying about it is a waste of time.
As on Israel, so on many other issues. Trump is simply a mystery to us at this point. Will he tame his fiery populism upon entering the White House? Will he go back on his promises made at his roaring rallies? Will the wall be built? What will happen to the 11 million illegal migrants currently embedded in American society? We don’t know. We can’t know. Only time will tell us.
It is my belief that Donald Trump will either be the greatest president of the past 50 years, or he will be the worst. There is no in-between with him. His personality is too spectacular, his confidence too muscled. As things stand, the former seems more likely to me than the latter.
D, LDN
Defend the Modern World 
I think we should be nervous. As you say, American voters (at least enough strategically located voters to win him the electoral college) are taking a huge gamble, as he has no political experience and said some crazy and often contradictory things during the campaign.
That ought to concern us, especially since I don’t believe we are even at President Reagan’s optimistic “Trust but verify” level of trust in government anymore.
I don’t think you and I probably agree on very much, but I’m always impressed by how thoughtful your posts are. I don’t see that a lot online, where “No, YOU suck!” and political gloating seem to be the rule of the day.
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Thank you, Nasreen.
Trump is a gamble, but if he pays off, the world will be tremendously enriched. He is the only major politician bold enough to speak the truth on the key issues of our time. He can do great things.
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” What if he tries to use the powers of the state to go after media organisations that have criticised him – making life difficult for the businesses that own inquisitive newspapers such as the Washington Post, for example – as he has said he will?”
Dare a man dream so bigly?
Whatever credibility the mainstream media once had before this election, it is utterly destroyed. Tens of millions of Americans now see them as a serpentine nu-age clergymen that they are. To the abyss with them! Alternative internet media, decentralized and responsive to the common people, has demonstrated that it holds more power than those hacks in New York and Washington.
Nothing excites me more about Trump then the possibility of even more people distrusting the television than already do, as they descend into shrilling chaos for the next four years. Because I predict with confidence that the media has learned nothing from this, and neither has the social justice/progressive movement as a whole. They will double down and become even more ideologically entrenched, setting themselves up further and further outside reality.
The democrats will turn into what the Labor Party has become post-brexit – bickering, fractured, and totally ineffective as an opposition. This was a winner-take all election, and I am so glad that the nationalist side won in the end.
Btw DTMW, are you still up to doing a skype call for my youtube? Sent you an email a little while ago. Would still love to talk to you!
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“The democrats will turn into what the Labor Party has become post-brexit – bickering, fractured, and totally ineffective as an opposition.” – I agree. This is disastrous for the Dems. They have no obvious way forward. People are floating the idea of Bernie Sanders running again in 2020. That might work, but he’s rather old. Hillary hasn’t ruled out standing again. That hardly seems worth it.
Sorry for not having replied to your email yet. I will reply today.
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Please Dems.. Nominate Hillary again for 2020. We want a second Trump presidency!!
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I don’t think even Democrats are that stupid. Hillary will never give up, but the party has learnt its lesson.
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Indeed, there we are. We shall see what comes. However, I rather doubt this is the end of the world as some act on the streets around the United States. This republic has existed for over two hundreds, and one truly bloody Civil War, and we are still the United States of America living under and with a legal tradition still in place (and working) since 1790.
We shall see.
I voted for him. As I watch the reaction of the American left to his victory – I feel that I was right to have voted for Trump. America needed a change of course. The republic needs to be renewed, and the American people be helped to stand again with a sense of pride. America’s left has been busy for far too long shaming and trashing everything true about this country. Trump is the cure, and we will be different for his time in office. Will he be perfect? Hardly, but one is perfect. I do believe that Trump shall be a very good break from business as usual.
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He has the potential to be a very great president. Unfortunately, his enemies will do everything they can to make sure he fails.
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I loved the ‘ you can’t always get what you want’ song playing in the background after he made his acceptance speech! Brilliant
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It’s a great song, too. One of my favourites.
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People will get out of this election result what they hope for or fear. As your judicious post emphasizes, we cannot really be sure what a Trump Presidency will mean. What I get out of this result is that a powerful message has been sent to the Islamic world to the effect that Western civilisation will not go quietly into the shadows of history. Muslims will still be free to honour God as they see fit, but they need to understand that Western freedoms are not up for grabs. Donald Trump strikes me as the kind of guy who will make this clear to them.
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Of all the policies Trump floated before the election, the Muslim immigration ban is the one he needs to be held to. I would be very disappointed if he went back on that.
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Yes. Every person who voted for him first and foremost because of that, must contact him/ his team and firmly and politely remind him of it, and state that they expect him to pursue this policy. Add, calmly and coolly, the observation – “Got Muslims? Got Jihad”. The only way to have less Jihad from within the gates of any Infidel country, is to have a smaller Mohammedan colony.,,, a smaller Mohammedan fifth column. And massively slowing down – preferably stopping, and not just temporarily but permanently – Muslim immigration, is the first step toward limiting the Muslim presence in any infidel country. Those who, in other nations, heard him articulate that policy, on limiting Muslim immigration, and instantly liked it, must contact him and say how much they hope he will do it… and explain that they want America to give the lead, set an example, make it *work* (which it will) to reduce the homeland security headache and massive associated expenses… which ought to encourage *other* countries (Austraia, Canada, UK, you-name-it) to follow suit. Tell him America has the opportunity to ‘lead by example’ in the pushback against the Hijra, the immigration-invasion.
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He’s already watered it down a bit. He’s now talking of ‘extreme vetting’.
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As an American who did not vote for Clinton, I share your sentiments. I have hope that Trump will succeed in fortifying America against the forces of jihad and globalization. I also have fear that he simply doesn’t know what he’s doing. There’s also concern about whether the white nationalists who are hitching themselves to his coattails will have excessive influence in the government — aided and abetted, ironically, by a media that can’t tell the difference between American nationalism and white nationalism and will hysterically attack and smear both. Meanwhile, I’ve seen many Trump supporters expressing their hope that America will be a good friend to the UK and support it through the Brexit, and saying things like “Next we liberate France” (by supporting Marine LePen). So Trump’s ascendancy, as I see it, is not even remotely about “We hate the outside world.” It’s about respecting countries’ right to self-determination and borders against the pro-jihad globalist onslaught. Or as the old saying goes, “Good fences make good neighbors.”
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“There’s also concern about whether the white nationalists who are hitching themselves to his coattails will have excessive influence in the government — aided and abetted, ironically, by a media that can’t tell the difference between American nationalism and white nationalism and will hysterically attack and smear both.” – Very good point. I was disappointed to hear of Steve Bannon’s appointment today. He seems quite a dodgy guy.
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Yeah, Bannon was what I had in mind. But do you have any solid intel on him? The claims I’ve seen about his being a white supremacist and an anti-Semite come from leftist media sources, and they’re very short on proof. The main thing they’ve got is that Bannon apparently bragged that the Breitbart site, under his leadership, had become a home for the alt-right, and the alt-right, as you saw, is mostly a bunch of white supremacists. I’m very concerned but I do notice a pattern that the mainstream media — and even worse, the self-proclaimed liberal media sources, such as MediaMatters — have no understanding of distinctions between being nationalist and being racist (heck, they still think that being anti-Islam is the same as being anti-Muslim and that both are the same as being racist). So I’d like some more solid info. Milo Yiannapolous writes for Breitbart and does not appear to agree with Bannon is anti-Semitic, but he didn’t elaborate. Anyway, Bannon is the one pick that has everyone freaking out. (Though nobody freaked out when Obama had Mohammed Elibiary as Homeland Security Advisor.)
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His ex-wife claims he pulled his daughter from a school because he ‘didn’t want her going to school with Jews’.
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He seems very unpleasant to me. Trump should be careful about the people he nominates for key positions. The Left would love for him to blow this.
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Important info about Bannon. I’d be curious to hear your thoughts. Looks reasonable here. https://www.buzzfeed.com/lesterfeder/this-is-how-steve-bannon-sees-the-entire-world?utm_term=.nn8G7Xn7r#.nbOVpzPpQ
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Yes, he does come across well here. Far more moderate than on Breitbart. I do wonder, though, whether he was toning down his rhetoric for the benefit of the people he was addressing (journalists affiliated with the Vatican). It’s hard to say. We must still ask questions.
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