President Elect Donald Trump

It is finally over! I am 53 years old. I have been voting since I was 18. I have never ever seen an election like the 2016 presidential election. It was the nastiest since.. well, the first time Barack Obama ran for president.

People said the nastiest things about Obama and his wife, Michelle. In my opinion, it was because racism is alive and well in the United States. And when I didn’t think it could get any worse, it did, in this year’s election. The only difference in this election was the candidates themselves.

The two candidates, Donald J. Trump and Hillary R. Clinton, were both well known. Hillary is a very hated personality. I don’t know what it is she is supposed to have done but I seriously doubt it is any worse than what any other politician has done. The media certainly was not doing her any favors. They were not doing either candidate any favors.

The media painted Donald Trump as some kind of a racist. He very well may be a racist but I doubt it. He did a lot of things wrong during the campaign. He said a lot of things he should not have said. He was politically incorrect. I sometimes liked that about him. There were times he was clearly responsible for the violence that sometimes accompanied his rallies. I didn’t like that about him.

His experience is in business and television. He will have a difficult time I think, accomplishing his campaign promises; as hard as any other new president taking office. He appealed to the working class, promising to bring back jobs from overseas. He successfully divided the nation on immigration issues. He offended Muslims, calling for a ban on all Muslims entering the country, because of the threat of terrorism. I can’t say I didn’t agree with that one. I would have agreed if it was Christianity that was threatening violence against non-believers.

The crowds that attended Trump rallies would make any non-white person nervous. There were a lot of white people there who may have been racist. I can’t say that they were all racists. However, a few people did find themselves in a little bit of danger when they decided to protest at a Trump rally. It was not a smart idea.

To everyone’s surprise, Trump won. It did not matter how the media tried to make him look like a sexist, racist, maniac (with plenty of help from the man himself). Hillary and the media failed to recognize that the people who supported Trump represented a need for something different. The people of the United States really are tired of the status quo. We want something different from the people in Washington who supposedly represent our interest.

I don’t think the  United States will be any worse with Donald Trump at the helm. I hope that he is able to bring back jobs to the working class people. NAFTA and other trade agreements really haven’t been that great for Americans. However, society is becoming more and more global. We have to work with other nations. I don’t think we can close off our borders and survive financially.

Hopefully, America will give Mr. Trump more of a chance than they gave President Obama. I guess I can’t hope for more respect. People are already disrespecting the man’s wife.

I didn’t vote for him. As a black man, I found his rhetoric too offensive, and in certain respects scary. I understand the need for better immigration control, but, it sounded like Trump had a problem with Mexicans and people who are Muslims. When I first heard him talk about illegal immigrants my first thought was if he has such animosity for those people next he’ll be talking about deporting blacks to Africa. Maybe it wasn’t racism that drove his speech, but, it certainly sounded that way.

He was an improviser. He could read a crowd and adjust his rhetoric accordingly. That is how he found his voice. Once he figured out what the people wanted to hear, he had his platform. I don’t think he has any real idea how he will attempt to accomplish what he has promised the people who elected him. Hopefully, he will find success in accomplishing some of the promises that will actually help the country.

So, sincerely President Elect Trump, good luck.