Donald Trump has won the US presidential election in a surprise victory that has shocked the poll pundits around the world. Trump’s populist, protectionist rhetoric has helped him win the presidency. The agony of the white working middle class has finally led to Trump’s way to the Oval office. The blue-collared whites have seen squeezing living standards and rising inequalities. Globalisation resulted in massive movements of capital around the world, but in the process created a majority of Americans being relegated to a stricken middle class. Trump has been successful in consolidating this massive chunk of voters, finally culminating in his win.
Trump has been very aggressive in his policies. He wants to brand China a currency manipulator which can even trigger a trade war between the world’s two biggest economies. He has also promised to renegotiate NAFTA. Trump has openly criticised the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which has not yet been ratified. He wants to negotiate fair trade deals so as to create American jobs, increase wages, and reduce the trade deficit. He has consistently attacked Hillary Clinton as the person who supported NAFTA. He has also opposed Hillary’s support to China’s entry into the World Trade Organization, and allowing China to run up $1 trillion in cumulative trade deficits with the United States.
Trump has promised to prioritize the jobs, wages, security of the American people and establish new immigration controls to boost wages and to ensure that open jobs are offered to American workers first. He has even declared to protect the economic well-being of the lawful immigrants already living in the States by curbing uncontrolled foreign worker admissions. He professes to introduce an ‘America’s Infrastructure First’ policy. Investments in transportation, clean water, a modern and reliable electricity grid, telecommunications, security infrastructure, and others will be his top priority. Trump has promised to create millions of new jobs in construction, steel manufacturing, and other sectors. Highlighting on the need of infrastructure investment, he has argued that such investment will make America more competitive, create jobs, increase wages for American workers, and will reduce the costs of goods and services for American consumers.
On eliminating terrorism, Trump promises to pursue aggressive joint and coalition military operations to destroy ISIS, international cooperation to cut off their funding, expand intelligence sharing, and cyber warfare to disrupt and disable their propaganda and recruiting. On the issue of indicting Clinton, Trump has alleged that Clinton lied to the Americans regarding the use of her private email server set up in the basement of her home while serving as Secretary of State. She had allegedly sent classified information jeopardizing the national security of America by allowing her emails to be hacked by foreign intelligence services. FBI Director James Comey’s statement that Clinton was extremely careless in handling very sensitive, highly classified information but was not criminally liable has also been criticised by the Trump camp. He has continuously targeted Hillary as the one who has been responsible for sending American jobs overseas which has led to rebuilding of foreign countries at America’s expense.
Trump rightly exhorted in his victory speech “Every single American will have the opportunity to realize his or her fullest potential.” A gargantuan challenge lies ahead for Trump.