In what was a shock to most of the world and many in America, early yesterday morning Mr Donald J Trump pulled off a stunning victory over Democratic presidential nominee Mrs Hillary Clinton and will be sworn-in as the 45th president of the United States come January.
In an upset reminiscent of the Brexit referendum in Britain earlier this year, the grandson of a German migrant made liars of the polls and pundits that had predicted a win for Mrs Clinton. According to the results made available early yesterday, Mr Trump’s victory was sealed when he won what are called “the key battleground states of Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania,” as well as Wisconsin gaining an overall total of 276 Electoral College votes (270 are required to win).
Not only has the White House been returned to a Republican president, but that party has retained control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, handing the Democratic Party a stunning blow from which it will take a long time to recover.
As analysts and commentators in the US and the world over continue to examine the results and offer opinions on the whys and hows, one thing is sure: America remains one of the global bastions of democracy. People voted and their votes were counted.
Another fact that must be noted is that Mr Trump has thrice done things most of the American media and political commentators doubted he could do. When it was first hinted that he might run for president of the United States, many felt it was impossible and some refused to take him seriously. He proved them wrong. When it began to look like he would win the Republican nomination, again there was doubt it would happen. It did. From then up to Election Day too many people looked at Mr Trump’s campaign with derision, ignoring the thousands that he pulled to his rallies. They felt he would never win the White House because of his apparent bumbling on American policy issues, his penchant for saying one thing and then denying he had said it, his hate speeches and apparent xenophobia and his appeal to the basest. And for the third time, he proved his naysayers wrong.
The Democratic Party, it would seem, believed the rhetoric and may not have worked as hard as it should have among the grassroots people in America. In addition, it appeared to have underestimated not just Mr Trump, but the power of patriarchy and the strong sense of conservatism among older white Americans. Everything about Mr Trump appealed to these so-called qualities. In addition, the pervasive dislike for Mrs Clinton, and not just because she is a woman, was seriously misjudged. The party will need to return to the drawing board with a new clearer direction if it is to make any impact between now and the next four years.
At age 70, Mr Trump will be the oldest president to be sworn in, surpassing Ronald Regan by a few weeks. Whatever else will be said about him, one thing is sure: Mr Trump never doubted that he would win, or if he did, he publicly presented an amazing poker face. He seemed to remain confident even after the release of the shocking remarks he had made about sexually harassing women and the number of women who later came forward with allegations against him.
It is unlikely that all of this will now be forgotten and that Mr Trump will be forgiven simply because he has won the election. In addition, since he is given to talking first and thinking second, America would do well to prepare itself for some red-faced moments, that is unless his advisers et al can manage to rein him in.
The acrimony unleashed from both sides in what has been described as an extraordinary election campaign season has further divided the United States, and in his first speech to supporters since the announcement of the results, Mr Trump called for Americans to unite and “bind the wounds of division.” This would have been difficult under any president, but is more so now because the new president-elect is an unabashedly polarizing figure.
The forgiving and healing that must take place in America now will have to be done by the people themselves, patriots who will recognise that in order for their land to remain great, and for all of its democratic institutions to work and its hard-fought-for freedoms to stay intact, a lot depends on its people.
