A silver lining in Trump’s victory

US President-elect Donald Trump

What began as the punch-line for many a stand-up comedian has today become a reality. Contrary to what virtually every pundit around the world had said, Donald J. Trump, in less than a month, shall be President of the United States of America.

The entire presidential campaign that climaxed in this result has been very telling. Beyond the clear disdain for the establishment and the growing apathy among young and traditionally disenfranchised that became apparent, the past few months have also laid bare the dark and uncouth underbelly of America for all to see.

Americans did not simply vote for the man who represented the ideological beliefs of the Republican Party on the 8th of November – in fact, despite being its candidate, Trump’s policy stands in stark contrast to many of the party’s most established principles. The party once led by Abraham Lincoln – aman who was assassinated for standing up for the rights of people of colour – is today led by a man whose policies must make old Abe shudder in his grave.

Republicans, followed by Americans, voted for a man whose campaign (and past) has been filled with repeated instances of sexism, racism, and bigotry; a man whose own words have contributed to a growing distrust of America’s fundamental institutions of democracy. Yet while at first glance, one might question the very sanity of the American people, Trump’s victory is more indicative of America’s electoral system than its people.

The majority of Americans, despite the result of the election, did not vote for a man whose rhetoric has often been laced with racism, sexism, and blatant bigotry. On the contrary, Hilary Clinton won the popular vote by just short of three million votes.

Grantedjust short of 63 million Americans did indeed cast their ballot for a man whose language and behaviour would make Lucifer himself blush, it ought to be recognised that there is a small silver lining in that Clinton received just short of 66 million votes.

Thanks to the country’s archaic and infamous Electoral College system, which manipulates the vote in a decidedly disproportional manner, this fact will unfortunately not change the outcome; however, the world can take some solace in knowing that the majority of Americans (by a margin of 2.1%) are as repulsed by the imminent Trump Presidency as they are.

The writer is an Associate Fellow  of the Royal Commonwealth Society