I wasn’t too surprised that Trump was re-elected, as he appeals to a number of people:
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He’s a man. Lots of people don’t want a female president, even if that means electing a felon, rapist, deadbeat, lying narcissist. A woman! - “An affluent society that thinks it is living in a hellscape is ripe for gulling by dictators who are willing to play along with such delusions.” Sadly (for them), Trump will toss them under the bus while pursuing his own goals.
- He promises everything to everyone. When he’s talking, he’s just throwing shit on the wall to see what sticks. He doesn’t care if his promises contradict each other, are impossible, etc., since he’s not going to keep any of them.
As an aside, I do think it’s important to mention Trump’s major strength: Identifying voters’ angers and hopes. This skill would be useful if he actually DID something about it, but he only uses it to advance himself.
What kind of president will he be? Terrible, as last time, since his only goals are (1) self-enrichment and (2) hanging out with dictators who can actually wield power.
(1) He will also burn $trillions of value to make $millions for himself. He doesn’t care how much American treasure goes away. His concern is his bank account. (His crypto-grifts and Truth Social stock manipulations would be entertaining if not for the many suckers he’s ripping off…)
(2) He will give Ukraine to Putin and let Bibi kill more Palestinians. The good news is that he’s a coward, so he’s unlikely to start another war. OTOH, Trump (the coward) will not stop China from taking Taiwan or other bullies to ruin lives formerly protected by America’s umbrella.
I don’t think there will be a land war in Europe, as NATO is still far stronger than Russia and the French/UK have enough nuclear weapons to deter Putin.
What about America’s culture wars, abortion, inequality and all that? On the one hand, the Democrats really lost on this one, focussing on gender rights (etc.) instead of the working classes who skipped university. That’s a sad own goal. On the other hand, the Republicans are so corrupt and incompetent that they will do little to help the average person. A duopoly of disgrace.
What’s going on in the Average American’s mind? The Onion has a view, but I’ve come to the conclusion that the country is no longer a place I want to associate with. Thus, I am going to give up my US citizenship ASAP. I’m “hitching my horse” to a future in Europe, with the Dutch.
Europe and the rest of the world cannot escape the baleful impacts of Trump’s brutal incompetence (David McWilliams has some good insights), but we have more protection. For Americans, I can only recommend the advice of a good friend: “I’m like that turtle crossing the road. I don’t care who’s president. I need to avoid the speeding cars.”
My one-handed conclusion is that a lot of angry people just put a gun to their head and pulled the trigger. Blood and brains everywhere except where they’re supposed to be.
Addendum (12 Nov): David McWilliams makes a good point, i.e., that Trump represents a “new [old] era” of isolationism, and thus opposition to globalism. Such a view can get expensive (Smoot-Hawley tariffs and loss of the gains from international trade) and dangerous (“isolated” US was forced to enter WWI and WWII by “outsiders”), but it has a logic. As a multi-cultural globalist, I think I prefer to stick with Europe — especially since the threat this time is Russia, not Germany.
14 Nov: Another excellent perspective from Fareed Zakaria, exploring isolationist America vs the globalist elites. Trump is bad news for small countries, but (maybe?) good news for big business, which is NOT the same as good for the economy.
For more opinions that became facts, read these posts on Trump 1.0
9 Nov 2016: Bottom Line Trump’s presidency adds momentum to an racist, nationalist, fascist trend towards a Dark Age that will make 99 percent of us poorer in heart, mind and home.
15 Nov 2016: Looking outside the US, don’t forget that Putin is just charmed to his socks to have Trump as President, as now he can dominate the “near abroad” without the pesky Americans blabbing about NATO or human rights. He will probably be even happier when Trump leaves Syria to him and removes sanctions related to Ukraine, so he can get rich while killing even more civilians.
24 Jan 2017: 14 points of Fascism