Many citizens are fearful after Trump’s election

To say that Donald Trump’s election caught many people by surprise is an understatement. The truth is that it was a shocker. 

For example, while the writer was never as comfortably assured of Kamala Harris’ victory as many friends and colleagues, in one of his latest articles he had talked about the lawsuits that would follow if Trump lost and about the on-going FBI and Department of Justice investigations into police misconduct in Lexington and Rankin County. Furthermore, he had figured that it would take several days to determine a winner of the election. Then, in a matter of hours, Trump was announced as the projected winner, rendering those predictions null and void. Trump’s administration will not be interested in resolving the police misconduct investigations.

Furthermore, since the announcement of Trump’s victory, there have been analysts of every stripe explaining what happened – why Kamala Harris lost and Trump won. Amidst those analyses, professional and amateur, we have heard all kinds of explanations. The most plausible explanation seems to be the major role that was played by racism, sexism, and false propaganda (the outright creation and spreading of lies).

MANDATE OR NO MANDATE

Before examining those factors, however, it bears stating that Harris’ defeat was not the biggest by far; she received more than 48% of the votes cast. It also bears mentioning that Trump’s victory was based upon just 27.6% of the adult population, not a resounding mandate. It shows once again that not everyone who wins a presidential election has a mandate. Lyndon Johnson had a mandate. John Kennedy did not. George W. Bush most certainly did not. Now, Trump does not.

When one enters the office of president, he/she must govern from the perspective of being president of all the people. It goes double when one is elected by a distinct minority, 27.6% of the adult population.

WHY TRUMP WON

First Lady Michelle Obama, among others, put her finger on the matter by indicating that Kamala Harris was judged by different standards than Donald Trump. It long has been understood that in a racist environment, such as America, a Black person has to be twice as smart or competent or skillful as a white person in order to obtain or keep a position or achieve the same level of success or recognition. 

Kamala Harris has more formal education than Trump. Over the years she has demonstrated her abilities in a much more obvious manner than Trump. In the debate between the two, she was clearly superior in every way, causing him to refuse a second debate. On the campaign trail and during interviews she articulated policies that would help the country while Trump either expressed negative policies or none at all on the same issues. Despite all of that, many voters chose Trump, sometimes pointing to a single supposed flaw of Harris.

Her identifying properties hurt Harris more than they had Hillary Clinton because Harris was carrying the burden of racism and sexism. The same is true when Harris is compared to Obama. Obama just carried the burden of racism. Furthermore, many whites raised the ante significantly after and as a result of being reminded that not only had a Black man surpassed them, but that white people were rapidly becoming a minority in America.

Then came 2024 wherein white men could vote against Harris in order to protect their privileged status as men and as white persons. White women could vote against her and still retain their privileged status as white persons. Even many Black men voted against Harris as a result of how racist/sexist ideology has affected them. Some Black women also indicated that even some Black women voted against Harris out of envy and what sexists have said about women officials when it comes to their temperament. With study after study documenting the degree of racism and sexism in this society, it is almost miraculous that Harris won any states, or the Democratic nomination in the first place.

The “red herring” about how Harris campaigned is just that, a red herring. She had no choice but to promote her policy ideas AND to warn the country of the threat that Trump posed to democracy as we have come to know it. She would have been criticized for downplaying either one or the other. The racist/sexist box in which she was placed meant that she was in a no-win situation. She needed to let the country know where she stood on the critical issues and the fascist threat which it faced. (It was the latter that attracted many prominent Republicans to her campaign.) It would have been gross negligence on her part to omit either element.

The “red herring” about the Democrats abandoning the working class has also been overblown by some analysts. If and when one looks at the Biden campaign, the Harris campaign, and the rhetoric of the Democratic National Convention, he/she can easily be impressed by the embracing support given to the working class. It was not just Biden standing with striking workers. It was also policy initiatives on healthcare, reduced prescription drugs, living wages, family medical leave, affordable housing, college loan forgiveness and tuition elimination, and tax cuts for the middle income. 

It is true that more could have been tried. The truth, however, is that the Republican Party under Trump has been opposed to all those initiatives and would likely have killed any bills trying to do more. Trump, on the campaign trial, offered next to nothing to the working class.

Again, the most credible explanations for why Trump won boil down to racism, sexism, and false propaganda. In addition to what is iterated above, it has been articulated that false propaganda was a major thing that helped Trump win. 

He lied incessantly on the campaign trail, in interviews, and during debates. In many cases there was no one to “fact check” him. In general, in order to rebut him, an opponent would have had no time left to offer his/her own policy positions. While Trump was spreading false propaganda via the public media, his surrogates, including the likes of Elon Musk and foreign operatives, were doing or enabling the same via social media. They flooded the platforms.

Given the fact that most American voters were exposed to Trump’s false propaganda, the impact on the election was devastating. The reality is that many voters heard no counter arguments, leaving them subject to Trump’s propaganda. Many others heard counter arguments, but were drawn-in by the Trump propaganda because it was what they preferred to hear. Still others knew the propaganda was false, but chose to follow the directions of the falsehoods because it provided the privileges, connections, or other benefits they desired. This held true whether dealing with the Biden/Harris policies or the Trump threat of fascism. Furthermore, the false propaganda easily underlined and supported the racism and sexism that were so ingrained in the Trump campaign.

THE THREAT FACING THE COUNTRY

Donald Trump and the MAGA (Make America Great Again) crowd have spelled out their plans in Project 2025 and spouted them out in various ways. The Supreme Court has given Trump the go-ahead to rule as an authoritarian. Then to further solidify the matter, Trump’s republicans have retained control of the House and the Senate. This enables them to pass whatever laws Trump desires. This situation threatens virtually every social welfare program now in effect, including Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, minimum wages, voting rights, women’s rights, and many others that they may have been smarting to destroy since the days of Franklin Roosevelt. 

Even should the House be salvaged by the Democratic caucus, Trump would still be able to implement most of his agenda through executive orders. He would have the officials in place, confirmed by the Senate to carry out his wishes. In addition, the orders would likely be upheld by the courts, most of whose members he will have appointed, knowing ahead of time their positions on such issues.

There is also the reality that most of Trump’s criminal cronies will be freed to prey on the public, further undermining the rule of law that makes this a democracy. His political opponents and media critics would be investigated, arrested, or otherwise punished because he would have the power to do so. The entire country would be under his strict control. All of the guardrails will be gone. Trump would be free to do whatever he wills, regardless of his mental state; regardless of what may have been the tradition or what any human rights document may declare. 

THE TASK BEFORE CITIZENS WHO OPPOSE FASCISM AND/OR  FIND THEMSELVES VICTIMIZED

All of a sudden, hundreds of thousands of people are declared to not be genuine Americans. Many others have dedicated themselves to the idea of democracy and the rule of law that supports it. Both groups have become the targets of Trumpism and must protect themselves. 

Therefore, the task before these citizens is to organize and demonstrate the courage to oppose each and every threatening act, be they the destruction of a good policy, the creation of a bad policy, or the attack on a political opponent or critic. There are groups in every state and community dedicated to such work. They can and should be joined and assisted. Other similar ones can and must be created, as the needs arise.

Many leaders and spokespersons have come to realize that activism is above the natural state of most people, but if and when they become fully informed, they are much more likely to act to protect and advance their own and their group’s interests. The more people join with others of like minds, the more courageous they are likely to become. 

Increasingly, these messages can be heard from officials like Kamala Harris, Tim Walz, Bernie Sanders, Bennie Thompson, and the newly elected Maryland Senator Angela Alsobrooks; from media persons like Anderson Cooper, Joy Reid, and Rachel Maddow; and from organizations like the Southern Poverty Law Center, the ACLU, and Reproductive Freedom for All. There are many more, which time and circumstances are likely to increase.

Many citizens have expressed and continue to express their fears. Many continue to search for a way out and what they can do to improve the situation in the meantime. At least, that is what we found last week.