Asked a year ago, I never thought Donald Trump was a serious candidate. In the week leading up to the 2016 Republican National Convention, I thought for sure the RNC would find a more suitable, qualified candidate. I'm not a registered Republican but, as a conservative, I prefer to vote along my values, ethics, and morals. No way, no how did I ever consider Trump would actually be a presidential nominee for one of our main political parties.
But it happened and he won the race, making him American President Number 45.
Rehashing his Tweets and verbal jibes would take more space than this blog post can handle, and it's really unnecessary. Reciting the various negative names and descriptions tossed at him would be a similarly daunting task and equally as pointless. This entire campaign has been one giant mudslinging contest and it's finally come to an end... kind of.
It's only the day after and I've already seen a torrent of celebrities and Average Joes alike using phrases such as #notmypresident and #nevermypresident. I hate to break it to them (well, not really), but yes he is (as opposed to "yes we can", ha ha ha). George Walker Bush was your President, just as Barack Hussein Obama was mine, and Donald John Trump is ours. Of all the celebrity Tweets, it was former N*Sync star and current D-List celebrity Lance Bass who gave what I consider a classy concession statement regarding Trump's impending Presidency:
"I totally understand why this country has voted the way it has. The people are not happy. I respect that. Let's all please come together and influence this new President in a positive way. The country is speaking. Let's respect that and try to work together. I will try to influence this new President as much as I can and support them as much as I can. I pray that they believe in equality. I pray that they make this country a place my future children with gay parents can feel safe and thrive. Let us all try to understand why this country is upset. Let's please come together and love one another. We might not agree with everything a candidate supports, but We The People can still make our voices heard and guide this new President in the right direction. We still live in the greatest country in the world. Don't forget that! We are great and we will continue to get better!! #StrongerTogether"
Bass is completely correct: people are tired of the status-quo in Washington and in our government. For the DNC to nominate Hillary Clinton, who has over four decades of scandal, corruption, dishonesty, ill-gained wealth, hypocrisy, and innocent blood on her hands, was foolish. I contend if they'd nominated anyone else, someone with even the slightest bit of integrity who Middle America could believe in, they would've kicked Trump's ass. Instead they nominated a career politician who embodies everything wrong with Washington, D.C.
Regarding President Obama, his terms have seen record amounts of mass killings on American soil; civil unrest rivaling the most heated periods of protest during the Vietnam War; skyrocketing health care costs (made worse by his own "Affordable Care" act); many Millennials have turned into greedy, selfish brats whose feelings are more important than their accomplishments and who want everything given to them; and a level of partisan politics in Washington which has caused the government to be less effective than it's been in decades.
No wonder so many are craving change!
I'll admit to be astonished on many levels, particularly the fact Trump got more votes from ethnic minorities than Mitt Romney did in 2012. After his repeated tirades against Hispanics, threats to stop Muslim immigration, and a plethora of other offensive, boorish statements aimed at women and minorities, I'm surprised he even made it to the RNC Convention, let alone the election. As a white, middle-class man in his mid-thirties, my life experiences differ radically from those who Trump targeted with his statements. While I cannot empathize with how they may feel, I certainly understand their trepidation toward his Presidency.
For those who insist on being melodramatic and threatening a move to Canada: Leave. Get out and don't come back. Conservatives (and many moderates) have fought against President Obama for eight years, preferring to stand up for themselves rather than tucking tail and running. Part of what makes America great (sorry, Trump, it already is) is people standing up for their ideals, taking part in a democratic process. Running and hiding? You might as well be French.
The fact is we'll all survive and get through this. We may even be surprised at his successes, who knows? In Michigan, we elected a non-politician, a businessman, to be our Governor. Economically, we're doing better than we had in the years prior, and Detroit has begun mounting a comeback from 40-plus years of downfall. Trump is a businessman - often successful, sometimes a failure - but he sure isn't a politician. While I don't have a high level of confidence in him, I also cannot foresee his Presidency being as apocalyptic as his most vocal detractors are predicting.
I'd suggest he'll only be a one-term President but I've been wrong about his chances from the get-go. All we can do at this point is pray for the best, expect the worst, and end up somewhere in between. It's sure to be a wild ride.
