‘President Trump’ Will Take Some Getting Used To As Obama’s Legacy Is Unraveled
Some things require time to get used to.
Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, 2017, marks the day Donald Trump is sworn in as the nation’s next Commander in Chief. The real estate tycoon replaces outgoing Barack Obama, a.k.a. “The Coolest President Ever,” according to Romper.
The swearing-in ceremony in Washington D.C. on the West Lawn of the United States Capitol building also marks another milestone: It will be 227 years, 8 months, and 21 days (or 83,175 days) since George Washington took the oath of office.
The phrase “Mr. President” falls off the tongues of White House aides and staff members like water off a duck’s back. I dare not begin guesstimating how many times the phrase has been uttered in the West Wing and Oval Office — and by journalists, critics, and political pundits.
Like dust and smoke often settle on surfaces over a span of time, the formal phrase is likely naturally imbued in the walls and drapes. Still, we’ll have to get accustomed to referring to Trump using the coveted title. Undoubtedly, it will take longer for others, and those part of the anti-Trump (or Never Trump) movement may never embrace a Donald Trump presidency.
President-elect Donald Trump. pic.twitter.com/aJMfmvSE1u
— We Got Trump (@WeNeedTrump) November 13, 2016
Just think about the learning curve Americans would have undergone had the Electoral College numbers worked out in Hillary Clinton’s favor. Assuredly, someone would have been the first to refer to the former First Lady in the masculine form of the presidential title. I wouldn’t want to be that intern or diminutive staff member with that momentary brain-to-mouth infarction.
You can bet on that and be as certain as you would about it raining in Seattle or sizzling in Death Valley. I wouldn’t even rule out the public trouncing on the first person to step into that gut-curdling territory for breaking protocol. After all, we live in a protest-happy culture.
Not since Ronald Reagan, an ideological conservative — and Hollywood cowboy, if you will — has the American electorate experienced a departure from the political norms in choosing a president. The majority of former executive chiefs had backgrounds largely in law, politics, and military service. Trump has none of these.
Media critics, those on the left and an assembly of elder statesmen from the Republican Party, would agree the president-elect ran a campaign centered on misogyny, xenophobia, and racism, as Carl Bernstein said during live CNN post-election coverage.
What Donald Trump taught us about ourselves https://t.co/DBSLWElb2s pic.twitter.com/0gzcjV6lAj
— CNN (@CNN) November 13, 2016
With his divisive rhetoric and firebrand style, it’s hard to fathom how Trump pulled off an upset over Clinton. Some would argue that Hillary set the stage for her own calamitous ending.
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan addressed the media one day after Trump’s victory. Ahead of offering the scripted obligatory niceties — while saying the country is “sharply divided,” Ryan acknowledged the shock of last night.
“This is the most incredible political feat I’ve ever seen in my lifetime.”
Trump pulled off a whiplash of a victory over a tested former Secretary of State endorsed by Obama to continue his legacy. And pollsters didn’t see it coming. In the spirit of the reality show, “Survival,” Trump’s victory was a classic #blindside.
We’ve grown to know the braggadocious billionaire as “The Donald,” and most recently, a xenophobe, misogynist, racist, demagogue and fear monger among a growing list of other handles. Quite frankly, “President” doesn’t ring well, unless it’s the subject of fodder for late night show hosts or for those who voted along party lines. It’s not a criticism — history will judge Trump on his merits.
Barack Obama, the nation’s first black president, is largely credited with making the union a little more “perfect.”
Under Obama, members of the LGBT community — thanks to his support and a nationwide ratification of same-sex marriage — are now able to marry a person based on love, not gender; Muslims and Middle Eastern refugees are not limited by religion in their quest to become American citizens; women now occupy key positions of government; undocumented hispanics are free to come out of hiding without fear of mass deportation; and millions of people with pre-existing conditions now have health insurance under the Affordable Care Act aka Obamacare.
But there’s a new sheriff in town, and he wants to build a wall.
In just a few months, Obama’s unlikely successor, the man who led the so-called birther movement against the president (birth certificate controversy), is set to unravel his legacy based on his campaign promises.
I’d argue that not even the Trump campaign saw his victory coming; in the weeks and days ahead of the election, he began taking a muted, somewhat conciliatory tone.
Trump, according to a UPROXX report, spent about $100 million of his own money towards his run for the White House. Instead of offering an optimistic and rubber stamp reply often given by seasoned politicians, the then-GOP nominee for president considered the possibility of losing.
“If I don’t win, I will consider it a tremendous waste of time, energy and money. I will have spent over $100 million on my own campaign.”
Like many pollsters still shaking their heads in amazement, I can’t think of why Clinton is not preparing to be sworn in as the nation’s first female president. The cards were laid out for her perfectly. Oddly, women, who were on the receiving end of Trump’s divisive rhetoric, stuck to their guns and voted along party lines, according to a New York Times report.
“Women were predicted to come out in force to vote for the first female president and against a man who demeaned them and bragged about sexual assault.”
Trump’s campaign was based on macro-issues like terrorism, foreign affairs, and the economy. Depending on whom you ask, the latter is doing just fine under an Obama presidency. And while the electorate’s vote was a referendum on the three hot-button issues, I’d argue that it weighed heavily on demographic change.
Trump Inauguration To Be Met By Mass 'Women's March On Washington' | The Huffington Post https://t.co/PuiVZ5Jnd7
— Fritz Melick (@fritz_melick) November 13, 2016
Today, cities around the union are protesting the results of the election. According to its Facebook page, Women’s March On Washington, a mass protest, is planned the day after Trump is sworn in as the 45th President of the United States.
My take: the people have spoken, and if our democracy is based on the collective voice of its constituents, we have to live with the result — good, bad or indifferent.
President Donald Trump? That’s going to take some getting used to, my friends.
[Featured Image by Carsten Koall/Getty Images]
