No one saw it coming. The pollsters didn’t, and neither did poll frontrunner Hillary Clinton. Only Donald Trump knew he had a chance of pulling off a major upset and he stunned the world by getting elected as the 45th US president. I myself thought Hillary Clinton was in the cusp of making history as the first woman president of the United States. Americans apparently were not ready to accept a woman president. They took a chance on someone who promised them change, no matter how draconian his methods may be.
Campaigning on what many saw as divisive rhetoric and slamming both his Democratic rival Clinton and incumbent President Barack Obama, Trump struck the right chord that resonated with American voters.
Clinton concentrated her campaign on the presidential debates and banked on the voter backlash against Trump’s abrasive and offensive language, thinking her rival would self-destruct. But Trump didn’t and instead gained followers with his campaign platform to make America great again, strengthen the military so it is second to none, and restore jobs that had gone overseas because of flawed economic policy.
Hillary lost because she had the disadvantage of running under the shadow of Obama and his hated Obamacare health program. Pensioners, retirees and the ordinary folks find the Obama health care more expensive instead of easing their medical expenses. These gut issues favored Trump and allowed the Republicans to gain control of both the Senate and the House.
The other not so spoken Hillary handicap? She ran under the shadow of husband and former President Bill Clinton’s sex scandal with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Voters still talked about the Oval Office as the Oral Office. This is a joke that leaves a bad taste in the mouth—it does not need to be explained.
Hillary, visibly stunned, conceded defeat while outgoing President Obama called up Trump to congratulate him and set a meeting to discuss transition details. In his victory speech, Trump said he will be “a president for all Americans and the time has come to bind the wounds of a long and bitter campaign.” He paid tribute to his rival’s hard fought campaign and acknowledged Hillary Clinton’s contributions as senator and Secretary of State. It was a gracious departure from his tirades against Hillary during the campaign.
Trump won the battleground states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Minnesota and the other swing states to clinch the historic victory. He ran and won despite the opposition and misgiving of some of his own Republican partymates. In the presidential elections of 2000, Democrat Al Gore won the popular vote but lost to Republican candidate George W. Bush in the electoral vote. It happened to Hillary, too, losing by 218 to 278 in the electoral votes. Only 270 electoral votes are needed to win.
The major upset in this year’s president election unsettled both the global market and the US stock exchange. But this is seen as temporary and the market is expected to adjust depending on the billionaire businessman’s economic policy and how he will govern to unite all Americans.
How will Trump’s election affect relations with the Philippines? Some local observers think ties between Manila and Washington will improve because Trump and Rodrigo Duterte talk the same language. But unless they fall in love and lock lips, I think the two presidents with their strong and volatile personalities might clash, particularly if Digong continues with his verbal attacks on the US. It would be interesting to see the sparks fly when the two firebrands exchange colorful language.
Trump in his victory speech made clear he would “make American great again and second to none.” This is ominous for a rising China and its aggressive moves in the Southeast Asian region. This could be bad news for Duterte who shifted Philippine foreign policy towards China at the expense of its long and traditional ties with the US. Digong’s drift to China threw the US pivot to Asia and its rebalancing of military forces into an awkward position.
The announcement Duterte has reconsidered and would now allow the continuation of the US-Philippine war games and to implement the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement should smooth out strained relations between Washington and Manila. This is vital for the security and stability of the Southeast Asian region that has been unsettled by the contentious maritime border disputes in the South China Sea.
