The man who made America hate again
Trump’s actions as president are every bit as shocking as his campaign rhetoric. But he doesn’t care who he offends.. as long as he keeps his core voters happy
WE SHOULD have known from the campaign he ran but, somehow, few people were prepared for the type of president that Donald Trump has turned out to be.
In normal politics, any one of his offensive mimicking of a disabled journalist, remarks about the treatment of women or the racist tones of his war on Muslims or Hispanics would have been enough to torpedo his candidacy.
But Trump doesn’t do politics. He’s not interested in who he offends, as long as his core vote remains solid.
Today, he will face protests as he arrives at Prestwick airport on another visit to his mother’s homeland.
Mary Anne MacLeod, born in Tong on the Isle of Lewis in 1912, emigrated to the US in 1930 and lived the American dream. She didn’t see her son become president, passing away in 2000 at the age of 88.
Trump’s campaign blew away Republican hopefuls from all factions of the party and then blew away Democrat Hillary Clinton, who he said was “crooked” and “would be in jail” if he won.
His anti-politics – and what some see as him standing up to political correctness – struck a chord in the American rust belt and among Christian evangelicals.
Many of them, conservative and middle-aged or older, were sick of politicians, sick of Barack Obama, sick of “liberals”, sick of gun control lobbyists, sick of immigration, sick of foreigners and foreign governments, sick of minorities and sick of Washington.
From “We’re gonna drain the swamp” to “We’ll build a big, beautiful wall” to “Donald J Trump is calling for a complete and total shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what the hell is going on”, this was Trump tapping into the unsubtle fears and prejudices of conservative voters.
He knew the message had to be blunt and unsophisticated – and that is what he delivered in the campaign and continues to deliver in his early-morning tweets.
His “America First” inauguration speech cast a dark shadow across the western world.
This was the language of totalitarian nationalism of the 1920s and 30s.
His undeliverable promise to revive the American steel industry has triggered protectionist trade wars between the US and even its staunchest allies. This again is a damaging return to the 30s.
Then there was the row over whose
inauguration got the biggest crowd. Despite all the evidence, Trump claimed a record – even though there were clearly more people at Obama’s inauguration.
Revealing himself to be a brat-like individual unable to take criticism, he soldiered on. Anyone who disagreed was simply peddling ”fake news”.
Trump doesn’t just like to shout the loudest in an argument but, like many petulant children, he never forgets.
Even after he won the election, he continued to obsess about Clinton and the FBI’s failure to prosecute her for using an insecure private email account while she was secretary of state.
At 3.51am on May 3 last year, he tweeted: “FBI Director Comey was the best thing that ever happened to Hillary Clinton in that he gave her a free pass for many bad deeds!
“The phony Trump/Russia story was an excuse used by the Democrats as justification for losing the election. Perhaps Trump just ran a great campaign.” James Comey was then fired as FBI director – and all allegations of Russian collusion in the Trump campaign have been dismissed as “fake news”. Trump has also seen it as his mission to undo his predecessor’s achievements – whether in making healthcare affordable to the American working class through Obamacare or signing up the country to international agreements to combat climate change. Another Obama goal, which he failed to achieve, was to try to do something about America’s gun laws. Trump doesn’t even want to try. His response to more tragic “shooter” incidents is to arm teachers in schools. His choice of advisers on becoming president brought ultra right-wing figures into the White House.
And a revolving door of sackings and resignations has brought ridicule to his administration.
Trump also failed to recognise the significance of the Black Lives Matter movement, who protested against police killings.
While bidding for the Republican ticket, he said: “I think they’re looking for trouble.”
The next big fight will be over Trump’s plans to make abortion less accessible.
At a time when many countries – even Ireland – have liberalised abortion laws, Trump and the religious right in America will bid to turn back the clock.
And he has tapped into the most negative of knee-jerk mob mentalities with his repeated rants on immigration – evidenced again yesterday as he waded into the Brexit debate. He saw it fit to attack Europe and the UK over a “soft touch” on immigration just weeks after the world was revulsed by images of migrant mothers being torn from their screaming children by US officials at the border with Mexico. Sadly, his non-diplomatic style and abrasive nature appeal to his core voters, meaning he could remain in the Oval Office until January 2025. After that, the western world can only hope that a more reasoned president can make America great again.