Trump’s victory was not easily achieved. He was mercilessly attacked by a variety of critics from virtually all segments of society, including prominent members of his own party. For good reason. I am not going to rehash all of the reasons for that. Suffice it to say that they were neither small in number nor minor in significance. And yet in spite of all that, Trump not only won the electoral vote (292) he also won the popular vote (51%). (Which he lost in 2016.)
This morning as I watched the legacy media report this news, I could not help but notice their long faces. You would think that a beloved relative of theirs had just died. I’m sure they could not believe their eyes as they watched the returns come in and battleground states falling into the Trump column.
It should also not escape anyone’s attention that many of the top celebrities of the entertainment world pulled out all the stops for Harris. There were practically none that came out for Trump.
Paragons of virtue like Lady Gaga and Beyonce who perform in costumes that appeal to the prurient interest of most men came out in large measure for Harris. Nobody cared. As one woman that was interviewed this morning and voted for Trump said: Beyonce isn’t paying my bills! What these entertainers don’t understand is that despite their massive popularity as performers, their values are not America’s values. And inflation does not affect their multi million dollar lifestyle.
The legacy media are all beside themselves and asking: How is what just happened possible? They have been doing little else over the last four years other than bashing the former president at every turn. Focusing on his considerable negatives exclusively. Interviewing or quoting people that know him or worked for him saying the most unflattering things about him, including that his election would be the end of democracy in America! And looking at Harris as democracy’s savior.
It’s true that Trump’s rhetoric was sometimes pretty scary. It’s true that many Republicans who served with him in office said he was unfit to be president. It’s true that he appealed to racists, bigots and anti-Semites. So the media wasn’t lying. But it is also true that they did not really hide their contempt for him either and did their best to see him defeated. Well it didn’t work. To their great dismay, he won. Big time.
How did he do it? It is so counterintuitive. How could a liar like Trump secure the trust of the majority of the American people? Did they not hear what the media kept reporting about him? Did they not hear the opposition to his candidacy by hard core conservative Republicans like Cheney, Pence, and Bolton? Or former members of his administration that said that his leadership was pure chaos? All of which was gleefully reported by the mainstream media! I guess they didn’t. Or didn’t care.
If I had to point to one thing that gave Trump the election, it would be the economy. People vote their pocketbooks. That is almost always the number one issue that influences voters. Even though statistics show that the US economy is doing quite well and that inflation is actually down (almost to pre-pandemic levels) voters weren’t feeling it where it matters in their lives. Like the grocery store where inflation still rages on.
Disparaging rhetoric about Blacks (like Trump not knowing that Harris was Black) and Latinos (like that tasteless and disparaging joke about Puerto Rico by an ‘insult comedian’ at a Trump rally) didn’t register with them, despite the incessant media repetition of a clip of that joke for days on end. Although these two demographics were still in the Harris camp, Trump was able to peel off enough of them to make a difference in those battle ground states. (Trump got an unprecedented 45% of the Latino vote nationally and unprecedented 35% of the Black vote in Georgia!
Even though a greater percentage of women voted for Harris, there too Trump was able to get more of their vote than had been predicted. And he already had a substantial lead among men. Trump was also able to mobilize people that never vote but support him – to actually go out and vote.
And then there is this. I would not be surprised if Kamala Harris regrets her choice of Walz as a running mate too. Choosing the governor of a state she was bound to win anyway instead of the governor of a of a state in play and must win - is a key reason she lost Pennsylvania. Had she picked Shapiro, she might have won Pennsylvania and the presidency. I doubt Walz attracted too many Pennsylvania voters or voters outside his own state.
What does Trump’s victory mean for Israel and the Jewish people? I honestly don’t know. What I do know is what a Harris win would have meant. She promised that she would pressure Israel to cease fire in Gaza and to pursue the establishment of a Palestinians state.
My guess is that Prime Minister Netanyahu is happy with a Trump victory (or should I say Harris loss) too. And that the majority of the Israeli people are happy about that too - since a recent poll indicated they preferred Trump over Harris by a substantial majority.
As for me, I am not happy with the results of this election with respect to the presidency. But I would not have been happy if Harris won either.
It remains to be seen how Israel will fare under a second Trump administration. That being said, I believe that Trump is at heart in fact very pro Israel. (Yes, despite popular opinion to the contrary, Trump does have a heart.) And I believe that he has a great affinity for Orthodox Jews. Which was demonstrated in his last term. Not to mention the fact that his daughter and son in law are Orthodox Jews, too.
The same thing cannot be said about non Orthodox Jews who are mostly liberal and can’t stand him. Trump knows that and I’m sure the feeling is mutual.
For those of us that lean conservative - one of the more positive outcomes of this election is that the Senate has been flipped. It is now a majority Republican. The House is still up for grabs, but should they remain the majority there, the conservative agenda has a real chance to change the liberal/left trajectory of the country. Making what Trump supporters say will make it great again. It also augers well for Israel and the Jewish people since Republican support for Israel is far more full throated than Democratic support. Republicans have as well been in the forefront of fighting campus antisemitism and the resultant resignation of liberal/left univerisity presidents that have allowed it to flourish in the name of free speech.
After all is said and done, I do not believe the dire predictions about the end of Democracy. America will survive 47 the same way it survived 45. Maybe even in better shape than it is now. So on that level, I’m feeling pretty good about the results of the election.
There is so much more to say. But I will leave it here for now and end with a prayer that God instills in the President-Elect the wisdom to lead this country in ways that will benefit all of its people. And that God insures that his support for Israel does not waver.
America now has a new/old president. He will be the president of the United States of America. All of it. Not just MAGA Republicans. His conservative policies will benefit us all. Just as they did last time he was president.
