So much for the unfounded rhetoric The Donald regurgitated about the rigged election throughout the arduously drawn out campaign that has left millions of people in the U.S. and indeed around the world with an unmitigated migraine.
In what seems to be a repeat of Brexit, the regressive Republican was actually elected to become the 45th President of the United States of America following the Nov. 8 general election.
Conveniently, he certainly won't be contesting the results because the system is only apparently rigged unless he wins. Sounds like the kind of classy, upstanding character that should be in charge of nuclear weapons.
“Unless I win, I was cheated!” said no respectable and dignified human being ever.
This is a man who claimed the media was against him, despite getting bar-none far more free publicity than any other candidate. Getting billions of dollars in free advertising sounds so unfair, doesn't it?
Seriously speaking, the historic election ushers in an era of great uncertainty as the world's peoples and their leaders — save perhaps Putin — scratch their heads in stunned bewilderment. The international community is collectively holding its breath as it anticipates with unease an extremely unpredictable presidency.
Even half of the American population sits largely dumfounded, no doubt expecting to wake from this dreadful nightmare any moment.
“Many of you are, like me, in a state of shock,” wrote actor George Takei in a social media post that garnered many tens of thousands of hits within hours.
“This does not feel like the America you love and honour. We are in unchartered waters. In times like these we must reaffirm the values we cherish and have fought for: equality, justice, the care of our planet. We must stand up defiantly to any dark or divisive acts, and look out for the most vulnerable among us. It is more important than ever.”
No matter how many times voters who cast a ballot for Clinton — or worse, the clueless, vote-splitting Gary Johnson — pinch themselves, President Trump will still be calling the shots for the next four, painfully long years.
Hopefully the megalomaniacal and shamelessly unapologetic braggart spends more time fulfilling the duties of the most important job on earth than he spends raging at just about any trivial nonsense on Twitter, objectifying and demeaning women, belittling and mocking the handicapped, and of course one of his favourite pastimes, propagating racial prejudice and cozying up to the support of white supremacists.
But the American electorate was so frustrated that millions of people were actually willing to vote for the devil they don't know over the one they at least understood.
How any self-proclaimed puritanical evangelist can even purport to support a twice-divorced man on his third marriage spawned from adultery is beyond all ability to reason. Apparently sacred vows aren't particularly sacred after all. At least not for a billionaire. Considering how quickly he disregarded his first two wedding vows, one wonders how seriously he'll take his oath of office. Chastise the Clintons all one wants, but they actually held together through thick and thin — last I checked, Bill had not hooked up with a mail order bride when the going got tough.
And unlike wealthy investor Warren Buffett, who has called for higher taxation on the billionaire class, Trump seeks to take every advantage to pay as little as possible.
How the bloviating blowhard actually plans to address his country's massive debt with plans to build that grotesque, monumental money pit and ridiculous waste of resources of a border wall will be quite the feat. Although I'll admittedly be the first to line up to offer my sincerest congratulations if he pulls it off — rein in national debt of course, not build a wall.
On that note, what an admirable legacy it is to build walls and divide humanity during an age of unprecedented interconnectivity.
Democracy in America isn't broken as Trump so tirelessly proclaimed.
Nope, it works apparently all too well. Winston Churchill was a stalwart defender of democracy but he was not shy about criticizing it, asserting that the strongest argument against the system is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.
One social media denizen summed up Trump's victory rather well.
“He's a moron but that part doesn't surprise me — they had Bush for two terms,” posted Andy Gregory.
Let's just hope America doesn't blindly reward Trump with a second term the same way it did for Bush.
Perhaps the most interesting development will be whether Trump's base continues to trumpet unwavering support after four years of his “leadership” and “business acumen” — apparently to some voters a guy with multiple business bankruptcies, failed casinos as well as a failed and fraudulent university, to name a few, is the ideal candidate to balance America's budget.
How long will the honeymoon with his jaded voter base last?
Although to be fair Trump could potentially surprise us all, but I'm not about to hold my breath.
Meanwhile, until the 2020 election, voters who supported The Donald are going to have to own their brash decision to shake up the “establishment” and “drain the swamp.”
Whatever egregious thing he says or does next is on their shoulders.
- Ducatel is the Sundre Round Up editor-reporter
"The American electorate was so frustrated that millions of people were actually willing to vote for the devil they don't know over the one they at least understood."
