WhatsappWhich candidate gave Americans more hope for the future? Kamala Harris gave women the hope that their daughters would be able to have an abortion easily. She gave progressive voters hope that they would be able to choose their gender, riot against police and demand defunding of the police even while crime runs rampant. Most of all, she gave men and women hope that America would finally elect the first female President. Today, it looks more and more like the first female President will be a Republican – either Nikki Haley or a successful businesswomen who will appeal to a broader swath of the electorate.
Donald Trump was not just the funnier of the two candidates. He was the candidate of hope. That is what brought out so many people to vote for him across the rust belt and across the entire United States of America. Despite losing the States of New York and New Jersey, Trump really won there too. Losing New Jersey by 5-9% is a victory for a Republican candidate. Losing New York by a bit over 10% is also a win for a Republican candidate.
Donald Trump did not endear himself to all those who voted for him. This was not a sweep the way Ronald Reagan swept the 1984 elections. Reagan only lost to Mondale in Mondale’s hometown state. Many of those who voted for Donald Trump would have far preferred to vote for Nikki Haley or a more “reasonable” or “moderate” Republican. But Donald Trump gave them hope for an economic future without runaway inflation, for an old age where their pensions and investments would allow them to live comfortably, and where they would be able to walk their streets without immigrants scaring the living daylights out of them. These are not nice soundbite issues such as infrastructure, housing, and investing in young families. Those are all lofty in sound, but really skirt the issues that concern most Americans today.
James Carville succeeded in keeping Bill Clinton focused on economic concerns in the 1992 elections while George H. Bush was too focused on building and prudently managing his New World Order. Well, back in 1992, Americans weren’t worried about foreign policy following the Persian Gulf War because it seemed like there were no major international threats anymore. But they were very worried about the economic slowdown that America experienced. Clinton learned in and gave enough voters hope.
Today, Americans are concerned about threats from abroad, but even more, they are concerned about the porous border and the flailing economy. Donald Trump, a non-disciplined candidate, never waivered from going back again and again to those two issues during the campaign. Americans heard him and were convinced. The border situation would improve and so would the economy. The fear mongering about Donald Trump did not resonate as Americans know that the checks and balances in the US political system are real. Anyway, if he’s so dictatorial as Harris’ supporters threatened, America will only have to endure 4 years of him due to term limits.
The next two years will probably be the only two years when America has a Republican President and control of both Houses of Congress. Expect Donald Trump to push through tough-on-crime and tough-on-the-border measures within the first few months of his term. But, there will also be some major slashing of the federal budget in order to free up the economy for businesses to flourish.
The most fascinating and unpredictable side of the 2nd Trump term will be his handling of foreign policy. It will not be a boring few months as Donald Trump consolidates his team. Let’s hope that Donald Trump beefs up the Secret Service as there will probably be more attempts to stop him.
