It is hard to pick even a grain of comfort. A week ago a BBC reporter interviewed the head of the largest Evangelical college in the USA, a man who might have run a mile from DJT. But no, he would vote Trump "with a view to the next thirty years". Didn't want a pro-Choice judge appointed to the Supreme Court.
Recently, during a lengthy BBC programme about the Rust Belt, I sensed a hollow feeling. A montage of Trump statements was shown, all delivered in the by-now familiar style - simple short statements, preceded and followed by longish pauses. An ideal way of addressing blue-collar workers with little education who haven't worked for the last ten years and won't for the next ten. The cumulative effect was hypnotic and inescapable.
I'd thought Trump was running a dumb campaign, in fact it was incredibly smart. Lies and the insults made you want to watch his speeches and when you got there you couldn't avoid his message. Will he betray those hopeless folk in Johnstown and nearby? The question is irrelevant. He was aiming to get elected. If he's got time he may toss them a crust; far better to be a businessman presently paying taxes. There could be a Christmas prezzie on the way.
The best hope is he'll only last one term. The Chinese, presently flooding the world with cheap steel, superfluous to their needs, may have something to say about any curtailment of that market. And don't the Chinese own half a trillion dollars of US debt, a fairly big lever during negotiations?
Two hideous expressions of democracy: Trump and Brexit.
Hopefully Trump, and his movement, will be akin to a case of the flu. We will survive, and we will be immune to it forever after. A lotta sadness and fear in my peer group today, especially among women who were primed to celebrate the first woman POTUS-elect. Trump sounded marginally level headed in his acceptance speech, though the demographic he urged to unite probably excludes a lot of people, and his notion of "getting along with all nations who get along with us" sounded, as usual, like a veiled threat. He's the oldest President-elect ever. Job's gonna kill him. Sooner would be better.
ReplyDeleteThe politics of Germany in the 30's come to mind. I sincerely hope the outcomes are not the same.
ReplyDeleteMikeM: I love those snappy last three sentences. Almost Trumplike in their conciseness. Stabbing him with his own dagger.
ReplyDeleteAvus: Especially since Dear Don has access to the button. Just read The End by Ian Kershaw, describes last months of Nazi Germany, how it imploded yet continued to hang citizens for cowardice days after the unconditional surrender. That's what you'd call an excess of zeal.
Feels like someone's just died. Again.
ReplyDeleteI worry about his foreign policy, and the succour it/he will give to right wing parties in Europe, and to Putin.
He has the mob with him but even his own party seem to dislike him (a bit like Corbyn) - let's hope that they set out to control him.
ReplyDeleteLucy: Interesting to see how a professional politician behaves under these circumstances. Obama, stressing the need for temporary unity and a smooth transition, speaks briskly without a trace of emotion (good or bad) in his voice. I admired that.
ReplyDeleteWe thought Brexit might be the first step in the dissolution of the EU, then watched the Juncker crowd huddle together for strength, But Brexit plus the newly encouraged right-wingers like le Pen seems more ominous.
I want to say something comforting for you my dear but what better than re-established routine: walks with Elfie, evening meals that require time and attention, a glass of Cahors red (six years old at least) while watching the HIGNFY turn recent events into satire.
Avus: That is already changing. There are new government jobs up for grabs; treats like that can overcome a good deal of dislike.
My drinking companions and I are most worried about the VP, who undoubtedly will be the dark presence behind the curtain like Cheney was. Now this is a scary guy, especially for women.
ReplyDeleteRW (zS): There's lot's of scariness, I know. You need a bolt-hole for a brief break from reality.
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