American People: We’re Suckers for a Sob Story

What can we take away from the election of Donald J. Trump to be the 47^th President of the United States.  A few things but ironically enough, one of the leading reasons may be that on the whole, the American people are suckers for a sob story.

Donald J. Trump made the last eight years a referendum on his being a victim. He may have propelled himself to the White House on a series of lies, which we’re all familiar with, but they were effective lies.

Bear with me while I highlight some of the obvious ones:

The economy is awful (we’re in a recession) – we are not in a recession, wages are up, job numbers are great, the fact is (it’s the economy stupid) costs are still higher than anyone wants to admit, and people feel that in their pocketbook. Nowhere is this more evident than in housing and food costs. Everyone feels that and there’s no escape from it.

Witch hunts — despite numerous jurisdictions, various grand juries, damning evidence (which many people have seen), convictions, and outstanding indictments, Donald J. Trump managed to convince large swaths of the American public that these charges were political in nature. That’s sad. A convicted felon has been voted in as President Elect of the United States – what does this say about our values?

Stolen Election — for four years Donald J. Trump has refused to acknowledge that he lost the 2020 election. This is one of the issues which has galvanized a swath of the American electorate despite the fact that it was clear that he lost.

Tariffs are not Taxes — somehow Donald J. Trump has convinced a majority of people that tariffs are paid by the country who are importing goods to the United States. This is such an obvious distortion of reality that it is shocking that so many people believed it.

I am still baffled by one of the “really big lies” that children were going to school in the morning as boys and coming home as girls. I might be getting old and addle brained but I seem to recall that a school cannot even provide a child with a baby aspirin without getting parental permission — yes we all knew that was a blatant lie but seldom was it called out.

Stunningly Short Memories

Are you better off than you were four years ago? This was a weird thing to ask – Apparently more voters were worried about the cost of a dozen eggs than the fact that four years ago, thousands of people a day were dying because of a pandemic . They forgot the empty grocery store shelves, they forgot that gas was cheap because no one was driving…..they forgot the mismanagement of a pandemic. Maybe we have COVID brain(s).

The Other Side of This Election

There are a couple of elephants in the room that MUST be wrangled with. Some of them are downright terrifying.

This man tried to overturn the 2020 election by directing a MOB to attack the US Capital. This was horrifying to watch. Yet, Donald J. Trump has promised on DAY ONE to pardon many of the more than 1,500 people who were convicted based on evidence claiming they are political hostages. This is absolutely terrifying for many reasons, but you already know those reasons.

Racism and sexism certainly played a role in this election. If you saw the debate you could literally feel the disdain pouring from the President Elect. If you saw the Madison Square Garden Rally, the racism and sexism were there for all to see. Haitians (who are here legally) are eating dogs and cats. Not truthful of course, but that did not matter, it was amplified numerous times (including by his running made who was the Senator for that district (shameful). “Migrant crime” is on the rise – another blatant lie but that did not matter because it simply plays into the racist rhetoric. The constant drumbeat of VP Kamala Harris being “low IQ” was pretty disgusting – and untruthful – but again, it fits that sexist/racist narrative that a woman of color was not smart.

They called her a Marxist, a Communist, a leftist. They used sexual slurs against her (typical for any woman candidate). They said they were going to take out the “trash” and specifically identified VP Harris. Disgusting behavior which should have no part in our electoral decisions. But Donald J. Trump has changed all that, he’s thrived on various “nicknames”. He has the audacity to call President Joe Biden a the “most corrupt President in history”. Talk about “I’m rubber you’re glue”…that was staggering given the amount of GRIFT that occurred among the Trump family….. But I digress….

Democrats Did Not Make the Right Arguments

There were several gaffes that didn’t help anyone. Let’s be honest about a few things that Democrats did wrong.  

President Joe Biden should have NEVER decided to seek reelection. PERIOD. However, hindsight is always 20/20 so I’ll just leave that there

When Vice President Kamala Harris was offered an opportunity to “separate” herself rom President Joseph Biden’s policies, she fumbled the ball. Later attempting to clean this up, it was too late.

When President Biden made the comment about supporters being garbage, regardless of his intent, there was a media firestorm that simply pointed to the fact that Democrats look down on those who do not agree with them.

I don’t buy into the narrative that many people do, I do believe that VP Harris was way to timid in her campaigning. She actually has a forceful presence and I believe she was over-managed by consultants. But that’s moot at this point.

These are the highlights (or low lights) but you get the point.

More Scary Stuff

There are some scary things that could (one can hope that they will not) happen over the next four years. While some of us may choose not to think further ahead, they will impact this country for decades to come.

The Supreme Court is likely to have one or more vacancies over the next four years. These seats will be filled by a President Donald J. Trump. This will have long-ranging impacts on this country as a whole. This is the beginning of the Republican dream of “making government so small you can drown it in a bathtub”.

Deporting millions of people from the United States has been at the top of President Elect Donald J. Trump’s playbook from the day he descended his golden escalator years ago. Be prepared. If you think food is expensive now, wait until you lose all of those workers who diligently gather food from fields across this country.

Another key feature of President Elect Donald J. Trump’s agenda seems to be retribution. This could have an unprecedented impact across this country since he has threatened to prosecute several people who he feels wronged him. Let’s hope this particular agenda item falls by the wayside. Combine this with his threats about various media companies and persons. Let’s hope these are ignored as well (well, we can hope right?).

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be in charge of health issues. I cannot even wrap my head around this but the idea of a person who has no medical background, who thinks fluoride should not be in water, who thinks all vaccines are bad……the idea is horrifying.

What happens in Ukraine? We’ll soon find out. The war in Israel is raging on, some believe the world is on fire, and we’ve hired an arsonist. NATO is in jeopardy …… alliances could be fractured. We seem to have taken the position that we can hope for the best. Let’s hope that gamble pays off.

Donald J. Trump made issues out of some of his own policies and blamed them on the current administration. It was him who created a child separation nightmare that this administration has worked to clean up. It was him who (ironically enough) advocated for sex change operations for prisoners. Yet he effectively pointed the finger at the Biden administration (just as he took credit for some of the Obama administration’s successes with little or no pushback.

Donald J. Trump has transformed the Republican party into something that traditional Republicans do not even recognize. No amount of whitewashing that fact will change it.

The American people have spoken. They have chosen to elect a convicted felon, a twice impeached, election denying man as President. This should be a horrifying moment in this country but unfortunately, we have four years to find out just how much worse it can get with a President who knows no bounds, has free rein thanks to the Supreme Court and has Republican lawmakers who do not know (nor do they care) to rein him in. Buckle up, it is likely to get much worse.

I’m not concerned for myself – I’m a grownup and I can care for myself. However, I am concerned about what the future holds for my children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.