Silent majority is now speaking out
IF you want an insight into how the Irish feel about Donald Trump, try holding his campaign poster aloft in Dublin city centre. Within two minutes of taking this picture, a woman faced the photographer down to launch a foulmouthed attack on America’s next president.
Others simply eyed up the signs, some with visceral looks of hate.
So if you hold some quiet admiration for the businessman, it may be a little comforting to discover you are not alone.
The silent majority finally came out last week.
Every single group which the mainstream media, social-justice warriors and political elite claimed Trump hated carried him to victory.
The poor, blacks and Hispanics and yes — even 53pc of white American women — gave this election to Trump.
They rejected the suffocating political correctness in favour of tangible change: jobs, financial security and rebuilding the American economy.
If you are to believe The Washington Post this weekend, Bill Clinton must be kicking himself.
He is now credited as the man who gave Trump the idea of entering the US presidential race.
During a phone call two months before Trump’s declaration, Clinton is said to have encouraged the businessman to play a more prominent role in the Republican Party.
In what reads like a plotline from House of Cards, Clinton supposedly felt that — if his wife ran as a Democrat against their old friend, the race would be a walkover. Big mistake. Not only did Trump take on the challenge — he employed the very slogan Bill had used.
In the words of his 1992 presidential campaign: “It’s the economy, stupid.”
The tycoon vowed to restore families’ incomes to pre-crash levels, and to big businesses he pledged a cut to the 35pc corporation tax.
Leading lights such as US investor Wilbur Ross; Tom Barrack of Colony Capital — a major investor in the Irish economy — and business magnate Carl Icahn (he left Trump’s victory party to bet $1bn on stocks — now how’s that for a vote of confidence?) all put their faith in the Republican. Warren Buffet has added to the chorus of support, saying: Trump “deserves everybody’s respect”.
It’s no wonder then his business smarts hit home with middle-America.
More than half of white female voters were more impressed with Trump’s ability to get things done, than Clinton’s candidacy as a woman. They didn’t feel obliged to back her based on gender alone.
As someone who listened to the controversial Trump tapes and wondered if I was wrong not to feel deeply offended, it was refreshing to see Trump’s comments put in perspective.
Yes, they were shocking and I don’t condone what he said — but I could see it for what it was: meaningless banter between two men, showing off behind closed doors. To call it sexual assault is demeaning to women who have experienced the real thing.
Regardless, everything Trump said 12 years ago pales in comparison to Bill Clinton’s actions as president, while Hillary subsequently gave him her unwavering support.
There’s only one president whose penis size we now know, thanks to his indiscretions. And it isn’t Donald Trump’s.
(It’s five and a half inches by the way, before you go to Google.)
What’s more, Trump’s record on women isn’t all bad. He gave two women — Kellyanne Conway and Hope Hicks — top jobs on his team as campaign manager and press secretary respectively. The latter was a 27-year-old student with no previous political experience but Trump saw her talent and potential.
Meanwhile, those who label Hillary’s failure as a seismic blow to the feminism are misguided. Most women don’t need Hillary Clinton in office to feel empowered.
She was the wrong woman for the job and there will be another more worthy contender. But if the entire progression of the women’s movement rests on one person, then we are in a sorry state.
In terms of Ireland’s relationship with the US, I am still hopeful. Experts have been predicting a mass exodus of multinational companies, but corporation tax cuts will take time to implement and may not fall below 25pc — allowing Ireland to retain a competitive advantage.
And with Brexit in place, US companies will need access to the European market through Ireland.
Remember there are also an estimated 34.5m Irish Americans in the United States, many of whom went to the polls to back Trump. He will want to keep them on-side should he eye a second term.
But in the meantime, you’d wonder why we Irish feel we are in such a position to knock Trump.
Unlike many of our politicians, he is a straighttalker who doesn’t care what anyone thinks. And I’ll put it this way — when Ireland had to negotiate with Europe on a €200m debt write down, who would you have preferred in your corner?
The billionaire businessman and expert negotiator or our two former school teachers?
When Enda Kenny is finished dusting off the harp to welcome Trump back, it would be worth his while asking Trump for a few pointers.
We would do well to have someone like him on our team.
‘There are 34.5m Irish Americans in the US, many of whom voted for Trump...’