Amidst raging #NotoTrump protests, apocalyptic rhetoric of the doom of America and undisguised public scorn, today President Trump took the oath of office and delivered his inaugural address.
Trump’s victory has raised global shock and awe within even more-temperate conservative factions of the masses. While the public outrage still burns hot, mostly out of salacious momentum, perhaps we should take a moment to take stock of why Trump actually won and what a man of his traits can actually bring to the Presidency.
Although chastised as being boisterous and narcissistic throughout his campaign, it would be premature to say that similar characteristics will define Trump’s demeanour as President or his agenda for the next four years. In fact, there are good reasons to welcome his brashness - the same reasons that prompted voters to choose Trump over Hillary. What the disappointed public and #NeverTrump campaigners fail to see is that beyond the bravado and crudity, Trump has been calling out to the disaffected masses that had suffered the brunt of the economic downturn. His advocacy for fair rather than free trade, enforcement of federal immigration law, and promises to bring back jobs to the United States brought back formerly estranged democrats and white working-class union members into the voter base. Even his crudeness was seen by many as raw unaffected candour, a stimulating change from previous dithering Republican candidates. That Hillary Clinton never got beyond her email and Clinton Foundation scandals also shows that the electorate censures breaking federal law as a public servant more fervently than the crookedness of Trump’s personality. Trump’s agenda was conservative in almost every area and in areas of doubt, voters reasoned that more judicious Republican advisors and the constitution would hold strong. Such nuances in opinion and policy can hold more promise for the Presidential office as it necessitates checks and balances. Even the media, asleep and smiling through much of the past eight years, is alert and more discerning.
Trump’s victory as president -and hitherto his term in office- will be a reflection of the needs of the disengaged white masses. What Trump called out to during his campaign and in his speech was something akin to a patriotic, radical call against the status quo in Washington. What won through was the festering ire of the working-class that had stowed its voice in the era of political correctivism.
It is perhaps time for America to reconcile to the fact that Trump gave voice to a much neglected bloc of the proletariat that was suffering under an increasingly bureaucratic system. Therefore, whether right or wrong, liberal or conservative (or potentially-fascist), in a democratic system ultimately the will of the people won.