Donald Trump has been elected the 47th president of the United States in a win that sent shockwaves through America and around the world. His victory in the 2016 US presidential election was described as a leap into the political unknown. This time there is no excuse.
Trump becomes the first convicted felon to win the presidency. He is also the oldest person ever elected to the office, and put aside his boasts of being a stable genius, recent campaign gaffes indicate otherwise. He was impeached. Twice. America knew that he was a criminal, serial liar and racist demagogue who four years ago attempted to overthrow the government. It voted for him anyway.
The result will sound alarm bells in foreign capitals given Trump’s chaotic leadership style and overtures to authoritarians such Putin of Russia and Kim Jong-un and Orban. He was branded a threat to democracy and even a fascist by his opponent and some of his own former White House officials. Those bells are now also ringing closer to home, with Trump having made campaign promises of mass deportation of immigrants, repeal of LGBTQ rights, female fertility autonomy rights, climate change policy u-turns, and revenge attacks against his political foes and the press.
