Let’s Give Trump a Chance

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President-elect Donald Trump
President-elect Donald Trump

Who would have ever believed that Trump would pull out the stunning victory on Tuesday, November 8 to become the USA’s 45th president?  The polls and media all said Hillary Clinton for the win.  The experts, the wisest of the three men, and the over 1 billion dollars to Clinton’s campaign all pointed to a Clinton victory.  Yet here we are with a larger-than-life orange-tinged-haired Trump sitting in the Oval Office complete with his grumpy boss frown ready to yell “YOU’RE FIRED” to some poor assistant.

It was vindicating for a major segment of voters who stayed silent throughout the campaign period. If you publicly supported Trump, then you were just as racist, sexist, and backward as him.  For all the rude remarks Trump was making some other things he said must have struck a chord with those voters.  It was devastation for an equally great number of voters who felt Trump’s victory was the end of all progress being made in America.  The specter of Trump’s presidency looming in the near future was like doomsday falling upon them.  They even took to the streets across America to protest Trump with signs like “Not My President”, or “Love Trumps Hate”  Certainly America remains bitterly divided.

Trump did at least one thing right.  As soon as he won the election, his acceptance speech revealed a man who acknowledged it was a “nasty” election, but that he wanted to be a president for all people.  Frankly, it seemed Trump was surprised to have pulled out of this election. Perhaps Trump isn’t really the racist loudmouth we all think he is.  Maybe Trump just knew that if he promised all these outrageous things, he would get enough of the white vote to make a difference on election night. Now that he had pulled off one of the greatest heists in history, he was completely out of his element.  Trump was a loud-talking salesman turned billionaire, not a seasoned politician versed in national and global policy.

Already Trump has backed down on some of his controversial promises.  While campaigning he called for the deportation of all illegal immigrants, promising to build a wall at the Mexican border, banning the immigration of Muslims, and ending Obamacare.  Now Trump is saying he wants to deport only illegal immigrants who are convicted criminals or part of gangs.  As far as the wall goes, he says he wants to build fences along certain key points of the border.  He had any references to banning Muslims wiped off his site – as if it never existed.  Instead of repealing Obamacare, he wants to keep certain elements of it while changing others.  This is certainly a quick change of heart for someone who was the symbolic champion of white angst.

Some of the major world leaders seem to warming up to Trump as well.   Putin for one has welcomed Trump’s victory and hopes to see better USA and Russia relations in the future.  China’s government is pleased since they believe Trump will not be so quick to meddle in their other affairs, such as the South China Sea dispute.  Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu views Trump as a “true friend” of Israel.  It makes you wonder why Trump is so well favored on the international stage over someone else such as current president Obama.

Since Trump is the president-elect and will officially lead the country in January 2017, America would do well to give Trump a chance.  Here is a businessman, an outsider, even his own Republican party tried to disown him.  A true outsider of sorts, you get not a politician, but an idealist.  Trump has previously tried to run for the presidency since the late 80s, so you know he’s been trying to break this barrier for a long time.  He’s not going anywhere even if you march and protest and burn all day.  He could’ve come out and promised even bigger bolder more controversial things – such as his promise to jail Clinton for the email scandal, but he didn’t.  That’s a pretty good start right there for a crazy person.  Toronto already has a lot of experience with this in Rob Ford.  If the idea of supporting Trump makes you break out in hives and shivers, take comfort in knowing that if he messes up, in four years you will have a new president.  Maybe even the first black woman for president.

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