Agree with you Julie.
One thing in Andrew's post I can agree with .. it's not helpful or reasonable to label all those who were supporting Trump as idiots or racists, even if some were. Most of of those who voted for him I think will have done so despite the fact that he said (perhaps even believes) repellent things, not because of it. They had a belief that the system is fundamentally broken and that Hillary Clinton would have been more of the same. Trump rode a wave of support from people who've spent the last eight years watching terrifying nightly news reports about ISIS and mass shootings and riots. They look outside and see painkiller addicts and closed factories. They believe that nobody in Washington gives a crap about them, and they have a point.
Trump said what people wanted to hear .. You want change? I'll deliver it. I am the one who can deliver jobs, negotiate our debts down, put the Chinese in their place etc Don't like Obama care? I'll scrap it and replace it with something different and better. And then for some he said I'll stop Muslims coming in, kick illegals out, build a wall, stop taking in refugees etc Those who didn't endorse these last promises were I think prepared to overlook them because the others were so appealing.
Half the country did not vote for Trump, and many who did are not racist, bigoted, anti LGBT. You still have more positive, open-minded and progressive people than not. He seems to have no clear strategies or plans to deliver any of his promises. He'll have a busy two months and still won't have them for all .. because he'll probably find some, perhaps many, of his notions are not so easily workable. I agree with Julie .. many of his promises are unrealistic. My hope is that he will have to concentrate on the ones that the majority of his supporters gave him their vote for, rather than those he offered to the ones who are simply bigoted .. and these latter are the ones with beliefs I do not think the majority of Americans espouse. (A small part of me wonders how much he really meant those which are horrendous, how much he simply used them as a lever to get the support of a tranche of the electorate.)
There will arguably be an increase in racial tension and other forms of unpleasantness, but American society is resilient, diverse and fundamentally decent, even if some of it is currently trying to prove the opposite. He will be constrained in what he can do at home even by a Senate with a majority and a GOP dominated Congress, by the courts and various other checks and balances. There are fewer impediments to Presidential power in foreign policy. As so much of Trump’s domestic programme depends on what he does abroad, the rest of us will be as, if not more, exposed than Americans themselves.
His vindictive, xenophobic, and bullying style are likely to encourage a rougher exchange between countries on world issues. He is not a win:win negotiator, but one who views a good deal as imposing his will on others; a limited and belligerent idea of what makes successful diplomatic negotiations. He is quick to anger, not good at managing it. He espouses trusting his instincts and not overthinking things, and has already indicated that he will not listen to advisors .. on foreign policy he said “I’m speaking with myself, number one, because I have a very good brain and I’ve said a lot of things.” Many of his intentions would unravel the fabric of international society carefully woven over the past six decades or so. It may well make the Korean Peninsula or the Gulf even more unsafe.
He is hostile to the EU, although his style will appeal to the far right like the French Front National. He may well have more enthusiasm for the UK now it is leaving the EU, but his attitude and intentions towards NATO together with his admiration for Putin, the single greatest threat to the stability of the European order, could leave Europe on its own to stand against Russia and defend Western values worldwide, and whether we are in or out of the EU we are part of NATO and still geographically part of Europe. And if he builds his "wall" .. will we see that replicate in Europe? Might we see walls go up across Europe that we may not see brought down again in our lifetime? Might 1989 to 2018 become known as the between walls era?
Andrew says he honestly believes a government isn't there to make him feel good. On that basis ours is doing well then, because mine doesn't make me feel good at all, nor the homeless, nor the disabled, in order to minimise a necessary "modest welfare programme" .. 14% planned for 2017.
Julie said "I do not believe he will protect the rights of ALL the citizens of my country. I do not feel safe with that man representing my country to the world. He doesn't speak for me." I hear you. I feel less safe.
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