Let’s start with the obvious. I took the recent polls at face value and believed that Hillary Clinton would win. As much as I understood the parallels to Brexit, and did not just dismiss out-of-hand that the media was in collusion with the Clintons, I fell for the hype. But, I was wrong. At least I can say that I am not shocked by the result, since I was not the typical consumer who merely scopes the headlines, but does not then read the actual article. So, this outcome was realistic to anyone who understood that you vote your pain. And for many Americans, that meant bucking a system that had left them behind, earning barely enough to subsist. You didn’t have to be a racist or sexist or moron to vote for Trump. The common denominator was frustration and despair.
With that said, despite the histrionics of the election season, I don’t think that Trump will launch a nuclear bomb just because someone says something unflattering. I also don’t think that he is really the man of the people who tapped into the zeitgeist of Midwest blue collar voters in order to win. But he does have a chance to surprise us. I’m hoping that he does.
