Trump Might Just Be The Best President Ever
For those non-Americans across the globe who were
indifferent as to who would have won the presidency in the just concluded American
elections, a Trump win still means nothing.
There has been nothing really out of the ordinary this
time. Something quite fascinating about the journey the President-elect Mr. Donald J. Trump
has taken to the white house deserves a mention, however, as majority of the human population can resonate with it. The
campaign period which proved to be a soap opera of sorts had Mr.Trump come out worse
than Mrs. Clinton in terms of image and competence. Up to the last minute, all
pollsters made the world believe that her win was a foregone conclusion.
As it turned out, the American electorate had their own
mind. And just as they had gone against the grain by electing the first
American-African to the White house (twice!) in the last two terms, they also
elected the least popular candidate against all odds.
They deserve two thumbs up for that unwitting consistency.
Tail wagging the dog
Mr. Trump is a brilliant decision maker and his
business acumen irrefutable. If he was not, he would not be a billionaire,
would he?
He is used to the business environment where he makes
important decisions by relying on his hunch
after getting the best available advise from
experts, often on his payroll. This gut feeling is usually an unfair advantage
especially if applied over time with reasonable success, and it serves so well
in the business world where the bottom line is really the bottom line.
In public service, however, it will serve Mr.Trump well to
sit at the foot of his soon-to-be predecessor in the few weeks to come and
receive a crash course on good governance. Mr.Obama has one of the best approval
ratings (57%) of any American president in the recent past going by the recent Gallup opinion poll and Mr.Trump could build on that as he lays
the foundation of his own legacy of making America great again. I digress.
He is at the threshold of greatness, right, but humility is a
pre-requisite test to pass. All that brashness that seemed to work during the
campaign period to whip up emotion will soon need to be forgotten if he intends
to be a president for all Americans as he claims.
He will have to understand that for a functioning
democracy like the US, there are checks
and balances. His hunch, as effective as it might have been in the business world, will
not be the overall determinant in running the government.
Arbitrary decisions made without the involvement of the
relevant parties will find his policies still in the flash disk for long durations pending approval by the Senate and Congressional Committees
as well as interpretation by the courts emanating from action taken by stakeholders like the civil
society and the citizenry.
Bringing boardroom approach into government will be the easiest route to his impeachment and his opponents
will be waiting for him to slip-up in this regard and then take full advantage. That is the work of the opposition anyway.
Once sworn in as President, Mr. Trump will soon
realise that his role is largely ceremonial and that decisions are made by the
people who exercise their sovereignty through institutions. His litany of
advisers will, therefore, be crucial in determining his success as the 45th
president of the United States of
America, or his downfall.
Fast-learner
By all accounts,Mr.Trump is a self-taught man who
appreciates value and has learned to begin with the end in mind when assessing the possible return on any form of investment.
Just like anyone, I happen to have studied about him a bit and listened to his advice
on financial success as well as read The Art
of The Deal, Surviving At The Top and Think Like A Billionaire as well as watched a few episodes of his reality TV shows; but
without a doubt, he is going to face very tough decisions in his new hat. A
part of me thinks he sometimes questions his decision to run for the seat going
by the sacrifices on his private life he is already making.
Anyway, as president-elect, his divisive campaign rhetoric that propelled him to
victory should be history by now. Replacing his entire campaign team composed
of some KKK and white supremacy loyalties with moderates might be a good start.
This is if he intends to reach out to all Americans - otherwise he might as
well quit now.
Please remember that the country has previously faced
unconventional internal warfare by her own people through Islamic extremism as
well as disgruntled and vengeful individuals hell-bent on destabilising society. Recent frequent mass
shoot-outs in public spaces comes to mind. There’s no telling when that could
stop were it to be politically instigated.
The president-elect might also be advised to choose
his words carefully. Each one of us is bigoted to some extent and the world
would stop if we all spoke our minds without caring about the consequences!
His campaign promises seem to have resonated well with
most Americans who felt sidelined by the status quo which favoured big
corporates, some of which benefit from cheap labour offered by illegal
immigrants and also outsource jobs to Asian countries to cut costs. He should as a matter of priority put his house in order first.
I am a traditionalist and a firm believer in the sons of the soil theory. Every nation
has the right to put the interests of her citizens first. Therefore, I do not see
what the big deal is, in deporting illegal immigrants (we do it all the time
here in Kenya) who exacerbate crime and also take up a sizeable share of all
semi-skilled labour that the ordinary uneducated American would do.
But in so doing, Mr.Trump should unclench his fist to
his nemesis as well as all Americans regardless of their gender, religion, race, colour
or ancestry.
This he will learn fast as all president-elects in the
world have in the past; that he is not going to be the president of
Republicans only. At the same time, he should endeavour to deliver on his campaign promises to
those who voted for him. Failing to do that may cast a shadow on his
integrity and seriously jeopardise his chances of winning a second term.
While I do not excuse Mr.Trump’s belittling and
objectification of women (I have four sisters), subtle racism, and blatant
propagation of Islamophobia, I strongly believe that as a world leader, he has
a clear chance to learn (fast) and adopt proper governance if he is to woo all those he offended in his race to the White House and also translate his personal success into an America success story.
It probably had to take Obama’s presidency to get the
economy back on its feet so that Trump may apply his experience in business to
take the nation to new heights.
A leader is ordained by God
After the 2007 PEV, my grandma reminded me that
regardless of who rightfully won the election, the Kenyan president at the time
had already been anointed by God before the ballots were even cast.
The world also gasped in surprise when we elected the
current president and his deputy who at the time had the yoke of being suspects
of crimes against humanity. Though they were later on exonerated(or were they?), to the rest of
the world we had elected in the highest office people who had killed us,
forcefully migrated populations and raped our women!
That’s democracy for you.
It’s now apparent to most Christians who would
otherwise choose to selectively read scripture that the good Lord has prepared a table before Trump’s enemies and his
cup now runneth over!
This might be a good lesson to all holier-than-thous and pretenders who had portrayed the man as the devil re-incarnate, that
everyone deserves a chance in life, if not a second one.
We can all overcome insurmountable obstacles however
high the odds appear to be if we are relentless and focus on our respective goals.
That no one should be judged exclusively by their past
is a paradigm shift that the rest of the world needs to learn from the
American voter.
Nonetheless, the Americans have exhibited their
overall subtle male chauvinism by not electing the first female president who had the popular vote. The glass ceiling is
still real in this first world and no one has let down Mrs.Clinton more than the
female voters, only 54% of whom voted for her.
POTUS
It will dignify Mr.Trump if he focused on America’s
future instead of resuscitating the muddy campaign period theatrics by pursuing
vengeance. A case in point is the threat of suing the dozen or so women who
claim they were inappropriately handled by him in the past; or jailing Mrs.
Clinton for whatever he might think she did wrong and so forth.
A
reconciliatory tone might go a long way in gaining the trust the female
electorate had lost on his ability and willingness to consider them as equals,
and maybe at some point offer his opponent a job!
His campaign manifesto made him sound like someone who
was determined to reinforce patriotism - strengthen what is inherently
American - her traditions, family values and so forth before considering what the
rest of the world needs. That doesn’t sound like a bad leader to me!
What does Africa stand to gain?
The world is about business. Period.
Each nation, economic block or continent pursues their
self-interests through all channels possible, and since invasion is outdated and
retrogressive, international trade facilitated by diplomacy aids in creating
more markets for the people concerned.
It is too early to tell what Africa stands to gain in
dealing with the US, as foreign policy is an area Mr.Trump might
have to seriously be up to speed with, and probably have his predecessor on
speed dial for important consultations.
The last Republican government led by President Bush
Jr. did quite a lot for Africa by supporting the African Growth and Opportunity
Act(AGOA) signed by President Clinton in his last days in office. The aim was to expand U.S. trade and investment with sub-Saharan Africa and subsequently guarantee a certain quota of imports from some 39 sub-Saharan countries in order to boost their economies.
Kenya has been a huge beneficiary in this regard, and amazingly according to a recent
report by the Ministry of Trade, our highest exports to the US were not the
traditional commodities viz, coffee and tea, but women’s trousers!
Gladly, the Republican President might not sign the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact (whose members include the US, Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Brunei,
Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, Chile and Peru) awaiting presidential assent. This is because it suits the aforementioned countries more
as they have larger industries that might make African products less competitive.
The AGOA agreement will end in nine years’ time, so we are safe in the mean time.
President Bush Jr's AIDS initiative, PEPFAR(President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief), also deserves a worthy mention going by the millions of lives it has impacted since it came into force in 2003.
Mr.Trump has no significant personal financial interest in Africa as it were, but by appreciating
that the continent is still a virgin territory by way of optimal utilization of her resources, he could further increase America’s
investments. The future is Africa’s, remember?
The continent is blessed with serious,honest self-made tycoons and a good number of level-headed heads of state who will charm the
billionaire president as if making a deal, engaging him and his delegation to sign
far-reaching bilateral and multi-lateral agreements that will enable him leave an impactful legacy just like his pre-predecessors have done.
Edited by TMK
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