John MacDonald: I'm not buying into the Trump hysteria

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald

I think I’m going to trust my gut instinct more often.

Because yesterday, I didn’t like the idea of it, but my gut was telling me that Donald Trump was going to win the presidential election.

And because I’m going to listen to my gut instinct more often, today I’m going to tell you that —even if we don't like it— we need to calm the farm a bit with all the hyperbole being thrown around.

Because even though things are a little bit different this time around, did the world fall apart last time Trump was president? It didn’t.

He’s another one of those people who you know is just making stuff up —and you know they’re a nasty piece of work— but somehow people fall for them. And enough people have fallen for Donald Trump. Again.

But even though I felt he was going to take it out, I was still blown away with how the numbers looked from the start.

Because you know what it’s like with elections and how the early stages of counting can skew things quite a bit – which is what I was thinking when I kept refreshing the screen on the phone following the results yesterday afternoon.

But those Electoral College numbers just kept piling up for Trump. But, unlike last time he won, I wasn’t in the least bit surprised.

There are some aspects that did surprise me. Example: the move in support from black voters —especially African American men— from Democrat to Republican.

But even then, that shouldn’t really be a surprise when you consider how Trump campaigned. Where he just kept asking voters the rhetorical question: are you better off now than you were four years ago?

And that’s a question that’s relevant to anyone from any cultural background. And it seems, for enough of them, the answer to that question was “no”. No, we’re not better off.

And that, it seems, is what it came down to for the Americans who not only voted Trump back in as president but who also put the Republicans in charge of the Senate.

Which is bringing some dire warnings today. Which I think would be very easy for me —or for anyone— to jump on board with. Because I think for a lot of people their default position is anti-Trump. Even though I think he’s a horrible person, I’m not going to switch to default.

When I watched him making his big victory speech, I did wonder how many of his cronies who were on that stage with him will still be with him in four years time. There will be some casualties, we know that.

And he made it very clear that America is going to be his first priority. In fact, he said that.

But, on the basis that the world didn’t fall to bits last time he was president, I’m not buying into the hysteria. I could be proven wrong, but that’s my gut instinct.

Unlike political commentator Matthew Hooton who is putting a very dire warning in the NZ Herald today, under the headline: “America entering most dangerous period since 1861”.

He’s saying today: “The world enters its most dangerous period since World War II, with Trump threatening to abandon Ukraine, withdraw the US’s security in Europe which will encourage Russia’s Vladimir Putin to expand his ambitions westward, launch a global trade war and collapse the World Trade Organisation.”

Matthew Hooton goes on to say: “Trump has also promised to jail his political opponents. He made similar threats in 2016 that he did not act upon, but back then his circle included at least some people who could be relied upon to keep his most extreme tendencies in check.

“There are no such people around him this time. Nor is he constrained by the need to worry about re-election.

“Barred from standing for re-election in 2028, the danger is he will seek to hold on to power by other means.”

And Matthew Hooton concludes by saying: “The US enters its most dangerous period since 1861, the start of the Civil War.”

I’m not buying into that. What about you?

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