For racist, I could have substituted 'fascist', or 'misogynist', even 'Nazi'. They all apply to Donald J Trump, who has today been elected president of the United States for the second time.
[Photo courtesy of RTVE]
How the US electorate could have voted en masse for this disgrace of a man, who is an adulterer and a liar, as well as a convicted felon, facing more trials for a range of crimes, is beyond me.
Didn’t they suss him out when he was president from 2016-2020?
What happened?
Yesterday morning, the day after the election on 5 November, Trump reached the magic figure of 270 electoral college votes he needed to secure his second term, as the 47th President of the United States of America.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, the US voters also presented him with a majority in the Senate and probably in Congress also!
There’ll be no stopping him now, unless some of the more sensible Republicans can rein him in.
What damage can Trump do?
With his claimed friendships with Putin (Russia), Xi Jinping (China) and Kim Jong Un (North Korea), the world must surely be concerned.
[Photos of Putin, Xi-Jinping and Kim Jong Un courtesy of Wikipedia]
Added to these pariahs, Trump is also rather too “pally” with rogue leaders in the West and the Middle East, people like Erdogan (Turkey), Netanyahu (Israel), Orban (Hungary) and Al-Assad (Syria).
[Photos of Erdogan, Netanyahu, Orban, and Al-Assad courtesy of Wikipedia]
Some reactions from around the world
Brenda Mellor (retired lawyer - UK)
“We don’t want or need to be exposed to every post, speech, picture, video of the POTUS over the next four years. His bonkers thoughts, word omelettes, illiterate scribblings, terrible dancing, bizarre fashion sense, ridiculous face are of no interest to us.”
[Photo courtesy of RocketReach]
Katherine Viner (Editor – The Guardian UK)
“We’ve just witnessed an extraordinary, devastating moment in the history of the United States. …..
….. “Now, with Trump months away from taking office again – with dramatic implications for wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, the health of American democracy, reproductive rights, inequality and, perhaps most of all, our collective environmental future – it’s time for us to redouble our efforts to hold the president-elect and those who surround him to account.”
[Photo courtesy of The Guardian]
Kristin Tadlock-Hunter (American living in London since 2016)
“Devastated doesn’t cover it ….. It feels like you’re watching your house burn down from across the street, with all your friends and family still inside. People say: ‘Oh, you’re so lucky not to be in the house that’s on fire,’ and you’re like: ‘No, that’s my memories, that’s the people I love, that’s the places I love.’ It’s a really painful experience to watch what you love being dismantled.”
[Photo courtesy of inkl]
Senator Cory Booker (Democrat – New Jersey )
“I can’t imagine, I can’t even get my mind around what it would be like if Donald Trump won, because he is telling us such dark and sinister things that he’s going to do, and I believe him.”
[Photo courtesy of CNN]
Marina Hyde (Columnist - The Guardian UK)
“A dastardly plot is afoot to burn it all down by any means necessary. Sound familiar? Well … we finally got to 5 November. Of course, you know the story. Once upon a time, there was a bad guy who wanted to set fire to a country’s political system.”
[Photo courtesy of The Irish Times]
Jamie Lee Curtis (American actor and Oscar winner)
Curtis wrote that it would be “a return to a more restrictive, some fear draconian time” and that minority groups will now be more afraid. “But what it really means is that we wake up and fight,” she wrote. “Fight for women and our children and their futures and fight against tyranny, one day at a time. One fight at a time. One protest at a time. That’s what it means to be an American.”
[Photo courtesy of El Mundo]
John Cusack (American actor)
“The fact that the country would choose to destroy itself by voting in a convicted felon, rapist and Nazi is a sign of deep nihilism. To put it mildly.”
[Photo courtesy of elDiario,es]
Stephen King (US author)
“There’s a sign you can see in many shops that sell beautiful but fragile items: LOVELY TO LOOK AT, DELIGHTFUL TO HOLD, BUT ONCE YOU BREAK IT, THEN IT’S SOLD. You can say the same about democracy.”
[Photo courtesy of XL Semanal]
Cardi B (US Rapper)
“I hate y’all bad. …..I’m sick of you! Burn your f***ing hats, mother***er. I’m really sad. I swear to God I’m really sad.”
[Photo courtesy of The New York Times]
The beginning of the end?
[Photo courtesy of El Correo]
Q.E.D.
© Paul Whitelock
Acknowledgements:
New York Times
Paul Whitelock
RTVE
The Guardian
Wikipedia
Photos:
CNN
El Correo
elDiario,es
El Mundo
Guardian
inkl
New York Times
RTVE
RocketReach
The Irish Times
XL Semanal
Tags:
Brenda Mellor, Cardy B, Cory Booker, CNN, El Correo, elDiario,es, El Mundo, Guardian, inkl, Irish Times, Jamie Lee Curtis, John Cusack, Katherine Viner, Kristin Tadlock-Hunter, Marina Hyde, New York Times, RTVE, RocketReach, Stepehen King, The Guardian, Trump, Wikipedia, XL Semanal