A valuable lesson was taught early on Wednesday morning, Nov. 6, 2024, when it was declared Donald J. Trump has been elected to be the United States of America’s 47th president.
Only time will tell if those who were taught this lesson will learn anything from it.
Trump winning the U.S. presidential election for a second time exposed a flaw in both the political system and the media and it was on display for all to see.
They got it wrong.
Not just in that they were off in calling the vote as it clearly was going to turn out but in how they labelled this man, his family and his supporters in the vilest of terms.
Nazis, misogynists, traitors, white supremacists, racists, Russian assets.
Those were all nasty, mean and unfounded smears. Those who used those tactics were among the same people on the media panels overnight who seemed to be as unwilling to call this a decisive victory for Trump as his opponent Kamala Harris was reluctant to show the class of a loser and concede the election to allow the winner the full spotlight.
It was bush league.
It was not surprising, in a way, because it was how they have all operated in the eight years since Trump first went down the escalator at his famous tower on 5th Avenue in New York City and later became the 45th president. They haven’t been fair. They have, in fact, been incredible unfair — pushing fictional, scurrilous allegations that led to assassination attempts.
They allowed the Washington political swamp to cover for the Biden administration and family and didn’t push back on the constant attempts to cancel Trump. All of the media and swamp need to look in the mirror today. The public they work for has lost confidence in them.
That said, it’s time to lower the temperature and admit their loss and poor performances. Trump is owed an apology. Trump is owed a chance to fulfil his mandate and agenda. The public who gave him that are owed their choice being respected.
Instead, in the wake of his victory it seems to be the same pundits on the airwaves, humiliated in their own hubris, telling people how it is. Not many offering mea culpas or explanations for their own failed judgments but instead trying to explain that it was the great unwashed who just don’t get it.
They do get it. They get that they’re overtaxed, overregulated, over-censored and overcharged. They know that boys competing with girls in the sports ring is not only wrong but unacceptable. They know war is unnecessary and the huge number of deaths as a result is unconscionable. They know the terrorists are the bad guys and who our allies are.
They have expressed their view on it.
This election was always going to go Trump’s way. This was clear for months. It was easy to see if people opened their eyes or were allowed to express their views without being called names. In my trips to New York and Chicago during the campaign, it was obvious from locals to tourists that Trump was going to be elected and avenged.
I made my prediction known on social media and on Marc Patrone’s radio show on SAUGA 960 based on that research and not from what the experts were saying. Also, in a column I did last week with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s brother from mother Margaret Trudeau, Kyle Kemper said when he was out on the campaign trail with his Bobby Kennedy bus and could see “Trump was way ahead” and that victory was going to go to Trump.
While Kemper was not invited to any media shows, he got it right. Those who mocked him can’t say that. His views are important in that from his vantage point he believes this win is a big opportunity for Canada to flourish in a business sense, despite the Canadian experts suggesting otherwise.
“It’s a chance to boom for both countries,” said Kemper.
You better believe it. The best move for the current prime minister or next prime minister is to work with Trump and float high with the changing tide. It doesn’t matter what Bruce Springsteen thinks. Or other millionaire stars like Stephen King or Oprah Winfrey.
Trump supporters don’t care what celebrities think anymore. Their celebrity is Trump. They were inspired by a man who in the face of death, and within metres of a supporter who was slain by the same assassin’s bullet, told them to “fight, fight, fight.”
They did. He did. And they won.
Even though they see he was the victim of law fare and weaponize justice officials and that his people are sent to jail because they were close to him, people were no longer afraid of the bullies who try to paint his supporters with a dirty brush and were going to send a loud and clear message.
And they sent that message. With the help of Elon Musk, who bought Twitter and turned it into X, suddenly freedom was available again and there were millions glad to participate in it.
The question now is what happens next. More spin? More lies? More not letting an elected leader govern?
Or an acceptance from all of the self-appointed experts used to having a bully pulpit that they lost and it’s time to give this man a chance to fulfil his mandate?
Letting Trump be their president is certainly what most Americans want. They have made that clear. They don’t care what their precious critics think of them anymore. They have spoken and it is their time to speak.
Whether it’s former president Barack Obama or the whole cadre of political pundits, they have to realize they are out of the loop of what citizens want and should not get in the way of the same democracy that they claim Trump was trying to suppress.
This was the most valuable lesson that Trump, and his supporters, have taught in 2024.
The people decide. And they have decided.