Latest update April 18th, 2024 12:59 AM
Nov 27, 2016 Countryman, Features / Columnists
(And the far-fetched notion that Hillary could still become US President)
By Dennis Nichols
For the past few weeks I resisted the urge to ‘Trumpify’ and ‘Hillarize’ my stories; There was just too much
debate and gossip over their themes of unpredictability, betrayal and hypocrisy in the media, on the streets of Georgetown, and elsewhere. Maybe the shock value simply stunned me into silence. But since, in our poet laureate’s words ‘All are involved; all
are consumed,’ I’ve decided to add my voice to the bewildering swell of astonishment generated by the recent election of Mr. Donald Trump to the United States presidency. (President Trump sounds almost oxymoronic)
The predicting of outcomes based on human behaviour is a tricky trade. Acts of spousal, familial, and national betrayal tell part of the story. In Guyana, a woman without qualms orders the murder of a loving husband to get at a piece of property. Fifty-three years ago, almost to the day, a shocking assassination ended the Camelot fairy tale with which JFK was keeping the country enraptured. And three weeks ago enough sane Americans, including those who apparently betrayed Hillary Clinton, voted Donald Trump into the White House.
They say Mr. Trump has a big head and small hands. I say he also has orange hair and nervous fingers, one of which could be poised over a certain Red Button after he assumes the leadership of the so-called free world. Google it and you will see that many national security figures, among whom are ten former nuclear launch officers, are very concerned over Mr. Trump having access to the launch codes of the country’s nuclear arsenal.
A month-old Daily News article attributes to them the following quotes. “The consequences of miscalculation, impulsive decision-making or poor judgment on the part of the president could be catastrophic. He has shown himself time and again to be easily baited and quick to lash out, dismissive of expert consultation and ill-informed of even basic military and international affairs including, most especially, nuclear weapons.”
The unpredictability factor! How could so many people seemingly dismiss it; or did the experts just miss it? And what about us here in Guyana and the Caribbean – Were we so fooled by the polls and our interpretation of Mr. Trump’s apparently inane pronouncements and promises that we couldn’t see how seriously millions of Americans were taking him?
Well, many people did not dismiss the reality of victory at the polls for ‘The Donald’ and some in fact predicted it. One such person was the outspoken and controversial documentary film-maker and author, Michael Moore, better known for his 2004 documentary, ‘Fahrenheit 9/11’ which is critical of former president George Bush’s ‘War on Terror’ following the events of September 11, 2001, and hinting at a cover-up of the real story.
From all evidence, Mr. Moore doesn’t like Donald Trump, but he understands the man, his message, and the mood of tens of millions of Americans. This is what he said in July of this year. “I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I gave it to you straight last summer when I told you that Donald Trump would be the Republican nominee for president. Now I have even more awful, depressing news for you: Donald J. Trump is going to win in November. This wretched, ignorant, dangerous part-time clown and full time sociopath is going to be our next president. Go ahead and say the words ‘cause you’ll be saying them for the next four years: “PRESIDENT TRUMP.”
Moore added, “And if you think Hillary Clinton is going to beat Trump with facts and smarts and logic, then you’ve obviously missed the past year of 56 primaries and caucuses when 16 Republican candidates tried that and every kitchen sink they could throw at Trump, and nothing could stop his juggernaut. Moore then advanced five reasons for the conviction.
The first was the Trump support from four traditionally Democratic ‘Rust Belt’ states, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Ohio, whose industrial economy has shrunk over the years, and which Trump blamed largely on liberal NAFTA and job outsourcing. He won three of them, with still-pending Michigan almost certainly going to him.
The other four are, in subhead, ‘The Last Stand of the Angry White Man’ (Endangered white males see feminism gone wild with a woman in the White House) ‘The Hillary Problem’, (Her hawkishness and unpopularity with young people) ‘The Depressed Sanders Vote’, (Not enough enthusiasm for Hillary from Bernie backers to drag enough of them out to vote in sufficient numbers) and finally ‘The Jesse Ventura Effect’ (As the people of Minnesota did when electing a professional wrestler as governor, some see the electing of Trump as playing a joke on the establishment because of their attitude towards a broken political system, and just for the heck of it)
Maybe ‘The Donald’ pulled off his version of a ‘Trompe L’Oeil’ which for those not acquainted with the term, is an art technique of visual perception creating an illusion whereby drawings appear as real, three-dimensional objects. Maybe those who wanted what Trump was mentally drawing, actually visualized America ‘great again’ in a hundred concrete images – new cars rolling out of Detroit, a million newly-employed middle class job-holders, and that wall – keeping out the spoilers to the south and keeping in America’s goodies. Can you blame them?
Now here’s my quick take on a most important aspect of the man. Donald Trump is the product of an imperfect, success-oriented political and economic system that favours fortune-seekers and money-grabbers (among other types of grabbing) As a world system, and though it may be more sensed than fully understood, if you’re clever, tough, and manipulative enough you can succeed in it – in at least what most of us perceive as success. Incidentally, I feel Mr. Trump may not have believed half the things he spouted or promised. But he got the prize … well actually not quite yet.
Believe it or not there’s a slim chance, involving a mere technicality, that the White House may still elude Donald Trump – a very slim chance. On December 19, the Electoral College will vote to elect him as president, usually a formality since electors are oath-bound to vote for their state’s general election winner. But it is possible for some ‘faithless’ electors to not do so. A few have reportedly already agreed to break tradition, while more than 4,000,000 people have signed an online petition encouraging electors to cast their votes for Hillary Clinton. It gets more head-spinning.
A group of computer scientists say there is strong evidence the election was rigged against Clinton in at least three Rust Belt states. They, along with voting rights activists and lawyers, are encouraging her to challenge the results. There are calls for, of all things, a forensic audit. It is being claimed that she also won the popular vote by close to two million. (Think of Guyana’s population) It is said a shift of just 55,000 Trump votes to Clinton in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin would give her victory, and the White House.
Magic seemed to have happened earlier this month. It’s a long, long shot, but maybe it can be conjured up again on December 19th. Now if the almost unthinkable happens three weeks from now, and Hillary slays the Trump dragon, wouldn’t it be the biggest Christmas present for the woman who stared so long at a seemingly unbreakable glass ceiling? I know it would be for tens of millions including our ‘American’ Guyanese kin. But for sanity’s sake, don’t bet on it.
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