The just-concluded United States of America presidential elections won by Joe Biden was a nail biter that left the country on a cliffhanger. I keenly followed the elections not because I had a preferred candidate but from the standpoint of a journalist. I am also intrigued by the contrast in the personalities, characters, and philosophies of the candidates. The icing on the cake was the fact the incumbent has been crying foul months before the election was held. This was unprecedented anywhere in the developed world.
The outgoing President Donald Trump is an enigma, a strategist, and a manipulator extraordinaire. In 2014, when Trump announced his aspiration to contest for the presidential ticket of the Republican Party, many scorned at it. Only the very few people who did not allow the buzz and the cacophony of noise coming from other aspirants to distract them saw things differently.
Trump is a brand, a global brand. He has been in the public consciousness in the United States for over 3 decades. He knows the game, how to play it, and circumvent the rules if necessary. Before the people realized what was going on, he had dominated the mainstream media and turned Twitter into the biggest political weapon in human history. With his tweet, he sets and defines the narratives. Other plays catch up, and he won the Republican ticket without breaking a sweat.
At this time, the Democrats are still living in Lala-land with the notion that Hilary Clinton; its presidential candidate will break the glass ceiling and become the first female President of the United States with a landslide victory over Trump. The shock on the election night still vibrates today. Trump won resoundingly.
The experts and many public commentators had envisaged that Trump will change the moment he was sworn in as president. Rather, he upped the ante of his rhetoric, lies, and baseless accusations. At every turn, President Trump is always crying wolf. This is not to belittle his accomplishments as president, with his business acumen; he built on the foundation left by the Obama presidency to strengthen the US economy until the advent of the coronavirus upended situation. The trajectory of the US economy under Trump before coronavirus was an envy of all. He renegotiated a number of trade and economic agreements; an example is NAFTA which was renamed CUSMA, a trade deal with Canada and Mexico. He took on China by imposing tariffs due to China’s forced technology transfer, intellectual property theft, and what he termed ‘China’s chronically abusive trade practices’. Trump withdrew from the Paris Accord on Climate because according to him, the agreement put the US in a disadvantaged position. At the peak of his economic success, his administration had created 4 million jobs, his taxes cut had brought over $300 billion into the system. He moved the US embassy to Jerusalem something other previous administration had been afraid to do for the fear of backlash. He controversially withdrew from the Iran Nuclear Deal, World Health Organization, and his Executive Order to keep open Guantanamo Bay and many more.
Not all his policies generated approval from the majority of people, as expected, some of his policy created divides and dissensions. President Trump lost the election not because Joe Biden is so spectacularly loved or exhibited something special lacking in Trump. He lost because he failed to act presidential and prudent at some key moments in his presidency. His biggest undoing is the coronavirus, he failed to heed the advice of the experts and grasp the moment to act swiftly on curbing the spread of the disease. His fixation to get re-elect made him focus on keeping the economy open just as many are dying and the medical system is overwhelmed. This decision turned out to be detrimental and fatal as over 230,000 Americans have died so far from the disease. The president also failed to respond properly to the killings of unarmed black people in several states of the country. He is also accused of giving tacit support to white supremacy groups, this allegation he has denied.
President Trump failed to act like an incumbent, he continues to behave like an insurgent. He openly disproves and castigates the opinions and advice of experts from virtually all agencies of the government. He rants against the CIA, FBI, CDC, etc. President Trump will openly contradict the policy of his own administration. While his officials are saying something at press briefings, the president is tweeting something else. Because of his behaviours, especially the lies, conflicts, and none adherence to stated protocol, the White House turnover under Trump is a record. Several Trump appointees, including National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci, and Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price have had the shortest service tenures in the history of their respective offices.
President Trump at one of his campaign rallies before the elections.
President Trump is a president unlike any in US history. He acts more like the leader of a mob. He is boastful and opinionated. It is either you do things his way or it will not be done. Trump won his election as a Republican, but he wasn’t truly one. He only used the party as a platform. Trump’s ideology, philosophy, and political leaning are solely his not that of the party or anyone’s. Trump might have lost the election but trupism won handsomely. He is a cult figure and his following is bound to continue to grow far beyond the shore of the United States. Already, there are several Trump-like heads of state around the world today- Brazil, the Philippines, Egypt, and Turkey. Trump’s supporter cut across all parties and colours, these are people who just believe in him irrespective of his flaws or misdeeds. The evangelicals embraced him because of his anti-LGBT and pro-life stands. He is like the second coming of Jesus Christ, from the US to Nigeria, vigils and prayer sessions were held for his re-election. Though brash with an unconventional style of governance, President Trump has the opportunity to change the world and go down in history as one of the best rather he kept pandering to augment his base and kept acting infantile. At critical times when the US and world expected him to act and exhibit statesmanship rather, he went puerile. The world lost an opportunity for change and re-engineering, he could have set the world on the right path with his daring and fearless attitude.
Trump always beat the odds. Before the elections, many polling had predicted a blue wave in the US but Trump with his cult of followers gave the red wave a momentum that was not expected. It is worth mentioning here that both Biden and Trump will go do in history as the first 2 candidates to poll over 70 million each in the US presidential elections. Trupism is a political ideology and style of governance that maximizes self-adulation, vilification of opponents, the use of abusive language, distortions, attacks on the media, conspiracy theories, tacit endorsement of violence, hostile state and somewhat condoning of discrimination.
Though Trump will remain a deeply polarizing figure this defeat does not signal his end. He will continue to wield power and influence in the US and around the world with his mammoth ardent followers. Trump does not need the Republican Party but the party needs him especially at this time. Trump is always thinking ahead, he deliberately instigated doubts into the electoral process before it even began to save face. He and his acolytes started crying foul when it became sanguine that he was heading for defeat. President Trump is flexing his muscle, refusing to concede after he lost accusing the media of calling the result. He knows he can get away with anything as the Republican Party has become his machine to use at his will. The media has been calling election results in the US since 1848 when it declared the election of Zachary Taylor. Unlike Nigeria and several other countries where there is a national electoral commission to announce results, in the US, it is the 51 states each with its rules and regulations. Trump is getting tyrannical and overreaching due to the support of his cultic followers and the sterile position of the Republican Party. He must be curbed. President Trump on the other hand can put to good use this power to contest again in 2014, sponsor candidates, influence government policies, establish his own media outlet, and many more. Trump might have wilted after the defeat at the polls but, trupism is alive and blooming.
