Most Barbadians – and we dare say citizens around the world – awoke to the shock on Wednesday morning that the majority of Americans had placed their faith in Donald Trump to be their leader for the next four years.
They rejected the idealism, hope, and optimism of the Kamala Harris campaign, and hitched their wagon to the isolationism and demagoguery that the Republican leader offered.
People are also highlighting how undemocratic the US electoral college system is for a country that styles itself as the world’s greatest democracy. A system that produces a presidential winner who may not receive the majority of the popular votes is also boggling.
The obscene level of sanctioned gerrymandering is astounding. Even in developing countries, the idea of a political group manipulating electoral constituencies that guarantee a win each time for one political party is frowned upon.
Even as citizens try to decipher the decision-making processes of the American electorate, it is clear that a new era has been ushered in with Trump’s election victory and the populist and extreme ‘MAGA’ movement that has emerged.
Americans were able to witness how the President-elect would market and brand anything by putting his name on it. He even put the Trump signature on cheques from government funds, which led many recipients to believe the money came from the former president rather than from taxpayers.
It is impossible for a leopard to change its spots or for a hyena to become sociable. The US Supreme Court has given the president such a long and unfettered rope from which he can do just about anything, criminal or otherwise, without consequences, it is a challenge to anticipate how the new ‘leader of the free world’ will use that power.
Trump’s Republican party now has control of the White House, the Senate and the Congress, with very little effective opposition.
As American journalist Joy Reid beautifully articulated, it was the generation of Americans born in the 1960s and 1970s who were the biggest supporters of the incoming president and created the conditions under which young people will have to live and adjust their lives with fewer rights than their parents, including reproductive health rights.
The world must not only keep its eyes on the incoming president, but it must also be very vigilant about the people operating close to the seat of power, including the incoming Vice President James David JD Vance, who has articulated some eyebrow-raising positions.
People will also be paying close attention to figures such as the recently-released-from-prison advisor Steve Bannon. They will also be watching one of the men behind Project 2025, Stephen Miller.
Even as we critique what governing will be like under the new president, we in the Caribbean must respect the decision of the American people. The citizens chose the person they wanted and they must live with whatever emerges from that choice.
What will happen to those who sought to hold Trump accountable for his actions, is the $64 million question. What is the next move for New York Attorney General Letitia James, or Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Judge Juan Merchan in New York or US District Judge Tanya Chutkan?
There are many top army officials that Trump called for their execution. His former Chief of Staff General John Kelly, Army General Mark Milley, General James Mattis, Lieutenant General HR McMaster, Lieutenant Colonel Mark Esper, and Army General Stanley McChrystal have said Trump is unfit for office and a danger to democracy.
Behind the scenes, people are blaming US Attorney General Merrick Garland for his failure to act for almost two years, allowing Trump to rebuild his base and his influence as a political figure in the country.
Be that as it may, Trump is the President-elect, and in January 2025 will be sworn into office. As much as we perceive the emperor is naked, we will join the rest of the world and praise his sartorial splendour.
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