By Steve Egbo
America’s presidential election of 2024 has come and gone, but the issues surrounding it will continue to impact the world for the next four years, and far beyond. The results have been called in. Winners have emerged. And losers too. While Kamala Harris of the Democratic party lost in a big way, Donald Trump, candidate of the Republican party, won in an even bigger manner. It was a landslide that comes rarely in American elections. Expectedly, the result has stirred a lot of emotions – perhaps in exactly the same measure it roused universal attention during the whirlwind campaigns.
The election, like all previous American elections, captured the attention of the whole world, because when America is involved, the world pays attention. The reason for that attention is simple – America is a global power – a super power – the type the world never saw before. Since 1945, America has bestrode the world like a collosus, with the capacity to influence world events more than any other country on earth.
There were so many issues on the ballot during this election season. But most of these, in the end, could be compressed into one single element – the economy. Of course there are other vital issues that played their own roles, such as immigration, demography, race, gender, perceptions and America’s place in the world. Yet, all these boil down to ‘the living standard’ of the average American, the ability or lack of it, to sustain what would be regarded as a reasonable standard of living – economic leverage. And talking about the average American, his persona paints a very unflattering picture. He is someone known to be lazy, insolent, badly educated, racist (irrespective of skin color), ethnocentric, chauvinistic and ignorant (especially about the world around him).
So, to put it in the Nigerian context, Donald Trump promised Americans stomach infrastructure and they fell for it. Big time.
However foreign policy issues also played a role, though not as important or as compelling as those of us outside the United States would have wished. There are bloody conflicts going on in Ukraine and the Middle East. Some in parts of Africa. And in one way or the other, America is involved in most, if not all. A feeling of fatigue seems to be seeping in amongst American consciousness. The thinking is “we have involved ourselves in too many wars” – more recently, Afghanistan, Iraq, now Ukraine and the Middle East. “perhaps it is time to look inwards and concentrate on the things that directly affect us”.
But more than wars and American exertions around the world, the issue of immigration rapidly caught on, and it played a great part in the last election. In line with his message of economic prosperity, Trump told Americans that the influx of immigrants, who kill their pets for food and take away their jobs are the cause of the hardship they face in their daily lives. He promised to tighten the boarders of the United States, so that people from those “shithole countries” would no longer be allowed to come in and mess up the good lives of Americans. Infact he assured them that even those who already sneaked in would be rounded up and sent back home. This was one message that resonated soundly with the ignorance and narcissism of the ordinary American citizen.
And lest we forget, the post-covid years have not been a good one for incumbents all over the world. In many countries, inflation is wrecking havoc. Unemployment and various forms of economic hardship seem to have spiraled out of control. The result is high cost of living, general hardship and great burdens on families. And when hardships come, incumbents are held responsible. They pay the price with their political lives. In the last few years, more than 10 incumbents have lost elections because the citizens blame them for not doing enough to protect their well-being. It happened in Britain, Italy, Sweden, Bulgaria, Croatia, Brazil, South Korea, Peru, Malaysia and Columbia . The leaders of Germany and France are merely hanging by the skin of their teeth. Even in Africa, where incumbents don’t lose, many have lost. These include Liberia, Ghana and Botswana. In South Africa the ANC has been humbled. The economy is a powerful aphrodisiac. It can make or mar.
Kamala’s campaign expended much energy and resources letting Americans know how bad Donald Trump was. They waxed lyrical on the dangers he posed to American democracy, their institutions and ways of life; his divisive rhetorics, his lies and made-up stories, his insolence to all and sundry, his obnoxious personal qualities and his corruption in public life as well as personal filth. The Democrats blazed forth from the heavens the abhorrent personality which candidate Trump represented. Along the line, the Harris campaign forgot to do some things. On the trail, they did not do a great job of convincing the Americans to support their candidate. She failed to convince the American electorates on her capacity to give them the good things of life. Trump was bad, they knew, but he made great promises.
So, in the end, Trump won. But Trump’s victory in the last election was not a surprise to me. Personally. Having since recovered from the shock of his victory in 2016, I have come to a better understanding of the Americans. The election result of 2016 altered the perception of America as a leader in the world. It exposed the underbelly, the rot and decay of American society which many never saw before the advent of Trump. Many people see America as civilized, cultured, progressive, sophisticated and well above the frailties that hobble the third world. But the election of Donald Trump, a coarse, vulgar, larcenous and amorous brute over the urbane, experienced, tested and educated Hillary Clinton, convinced people that the Ajegunle and Oshodi of the United States have far greater appeal than the glitter and cobbled terraces of Wall Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.
From whatever angle you view Mr Trump, one must admit that he is a unique character. He is bullish, assertive and uncouth yet charismatic. He is a demagogue and a white supremacist to the core. He is not afraid to express his opinions on issues, no matter how deficient or outlandish those opinions are, and no matter how clearly it goes against the run of play. Trump is bombastic, and unencumbered by what people think of him. But he is not one to be intimidated. He manufactures lies and dresses them up as truth, and no matter what fact finders say, he will stick to his narratives. And what’s more? Those who love him are not fazed. They will still love him.
In the months leading up to the election, pollsters, analysts and egg heads of different hues, unanimously predicted a very tight race. “Too close to call” was the language. They predicted that whoever wins will barely make the flip with the narrowest margin either way. But they were wrong. Totally wrong. Donald Trump not only won, he made a clean sweep of all the so called swing states. He won the popular votes by a wide margin, and practically took both houses of Congress. With the Republicans in control of the White House, the Senate and the House of Representatives, Donald Trump is coming back more powerful and sure-footed than he was in 2016. The Supreme Court is filled with his conservative appointees, and the prospects of making more appointments in due course are there. This is total control. The irony of fate can be dizzying sometimes. In 1776, the Americans rejected monarchy. In 2024, they elected a monarch. His Majesty, King Trump.
While the GOP is luxuriating in the euphoria of their electoral heist, popping champagne and congratulating each other, the Democrats are furiously scratching their heads, wondering how and why things went so disastrously wrong. But that is the way of democracy, that period of awesomely leveling interlude when men temporarily became equal and the high and mighty subject themselves to the preening authentication of the plebians. A time when the master actually becomes the servant.
The head scratching in the Democratic party is naturally morphing into a blame game. And that’s always the case. Nancy Pelosi said president Biden did not opt out of the race early enough to allow Kamala adequate time to showcase herself to America. Others said she did not distance herself from Mr Biden and therefore inherited Biden’s incumbency baggage. But would Biden’s presidency be adjudged a failure? Many will disagree. And very seriously. This distancing from the incumbent is in itself a double edged sword. It could swing either way. Let the reader recall the 2000 election when Al Gore, made a clean cut from his principal, Bill Clinton, not wanting to be tainted by the grizzly Monica affair. Al Gore lost the election and they blamed him for turning his back on Mr Clinton, who up to his last day in office, remained a darling of the American public, Monica or no Monica. Elections can be strange and it’s outcome more so.
But let’s get back to Mr Trump. The big question is, what will Donald Trump do with these vast powers he stands to inherent from January 20th, next year? Is it the power to recreate America in his image? Will he use these powers to build a kinder America and a more peaceful and gentler world, in line with the philosophy of George Bush, Snr, (the gentleman president). Should the world now expect an America that is steeped in anger and fiery rhetorics, vengeful, hateful, anti-progressive, immuned to truth, open to lies and false narratives? Should the world expect a new America that stands antithetical to everything ever known about America? Will Trump make good his promise to go after his political enemies? Will he carry out his threat to arrest Nancy Pelosi and send assasins after Liz Cheney? Is it the power to implement the “Vision 2025”, a document that reads very much like Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf?” Simply put, is it the power to denigrate or integrate? The world is holding its breath.
The victory of of Donald Trump has caused ripples around the world. In Europe, Middle East Asia and the Pacific region, leaders are scrambling to unravel what lies ahead and to design a template on how to contain the fallouts that are bound to follow. Many questions are being asked, for which there are no answers yet. What will be the future of NATO? What happens to the WTO and free trade? Is it the end of the road for globalization? Is America going back to the era of protectionism and isolationism? Does making America great again entail the abandonment of power and America’s leadership of the free world in pursuit of an America-first policy?
Will Donald Trump do to Ukraine what Nerville Chamberlain did to Austria and Czechkoslovakia in 1938? Will he give Israel the necessary backing to put a stop to Iran’s destabilizing antics, or will he exhibit the same timidity that boldens Iran. Will he stand up and push back the deluge of aggressive religious fundamentalism threatening to engulf the western hemisphere? If Beijing decides to break the status quo arrangement which existed since 1949 and move against Taiwan, how will Washington respond? As the 21st Century gets underway, it has become apparent that China portends the greatest danger to America than any other country in the world. China is on a race to catch up with the US and perhaps overtake it. And China has enough discipline and control to go very far. China also has the resources and tenacity to sustain the struggle. China has an eye on Taiwan and sooner, rather than later, it will make it’s move. President Xi wants to see this done in his lifetime and he wants history to remember him for that accomplishment.
Other matters of urgent interest include America’s disposition to the axis of tyranny and authoritarianism under president Trump. Mr Trump seems to love and admire the worst tyrants of the present age. These include president Xi (China), president Putin (Russia) even Kim Jun Un of North Korea, and others. During his first tenure, he tried to cuddle them, but nothing came out of it. In the years he was out of power, he continued to relate with Putin. How is he going to relate with them now and how would this relationship impact America’s national interest and the rest of the world? Personal relationship between leaders, irrespective of ideological leanings, are not unusual, because it could enhance co-operation and bring temperatures down. But in his book “Real Peace”, Richard Nixon warned of the dangers of disillusionment when personal relationships are unable to transcend government to government relationships. And don’t forget, Vladimir Putin is far smarter than Donald Trump.
These and many more are the issues the world is grappling with in the aftermath of Trump’s massive victory on November 5. But here in Africa, particularly Nigeria, we are only concerned with Trump’s apparent religiosity, his love of Christian precepts and his promise to bring America and possibly the world back to Jesus Christ and solid Christian foundations. This is laughable nonsense. It shows our small thinking and our backwardness. It brings to light the frivolities we dissipate our energies on while the world is dealing with serious matters. Donald Trump is an agnostic but he will kneel down at an altar, or anywhere, fein religious piety and carry the Bible if it serves his political purposes. Trump will rage against LGBTs and pro-abortion groups and other outrageous excesses that cobwebs American life only if it will fetch him more votes. Otherwise, he just doesn’t care.
Donald Trump never goes to church and he doesn’t read the Bible. For those who may care to look at the records, or summon the strength to sort out the facts from innuendos and fake piety, those records will reveal that Donald Trump is the most unChristian inhabitant of the White House since 1800. The Christian right that support Trump in the US base their faith on the well established notion of white masters against freed slaves – their slaves, who in their unstated opinions, remain under the bondage of slavery. It is slavery by other means. The Massa mentality never died. It merely went through a metamorphosis. For them, the kingdoms of the world belong to the white man. And so does the kingdom of heaven. ‘America first’ translates to ‘white first’. And ‘Make America great again’ translates to ‘make America white again’. This is their mission. These facts are not often stated, but they are there.
Finally, I want to end this essay by reiterating the uniqueness and obstuseness of America. America is a very unusual country. Full of contradictions and contumations. There is no other country like America. Like John Bolton said a few days ago, “the world will miss us when we’re gone”. But the truth is, America is not going any time soon. Granted that no kingdom lasts for ever, but America will endure. Their enemies will tell how much America has declined, but America is still far ahead of it’s rivals. So, only America will elect a man like Donald Trump into the most powerful office on earth. America would not have allowed this to happen anywhere else. If another country had elected a convicted felon, a fraudster, a con-man, a racist, a misogynist, a rapist, a self acclaimed pussy grabber, a friend of Ku Klux Klan, a climate skeptic, election denier, and covid denier, a twice impeached white supremacist, a coup baiter and a tax dodger, as president, America would have imposed sanctions on that country…
But America has done it and the world will live with it. America has short-changed the world and there will be consequences.
Professor Steve Egbo
Resource Person @ NILDS Abuja
(08037910012 WhatsApp only)