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Real estate magnate and reality television personality Donald Trump has just won an extremely close, and highly controversial, presidential campaign and will officially take the role of President of the United States on January 20^th 2017.

The election results are causing outrage and political upset.

Never have we seen a more theatrical character in politics.

Throughout the entire campaign he has had an intense relationship with the press, consistently capturing news headlines and sending shockwaves through his audience with his brash antics.

He has insulted and alienated women, Hispanics, the black community, Muslims, immigrants and even fellow members of his own Republican party.

It seems clear that one of the main reasons that people have an aversion to Trump is that he is about as un-politically correct as a high-profile figure could be. Never before have many of us witnessed someone who speaks exactly what’s on their mind in front of the cameras, seemingly without first thinking too hard about the words.

There is no doubt about it, Donald Trump has captured the media’s attention, and all eyes are going to be on him and his actions over the next four years. I believe that for the first time people many people will be waking up and taking an interest in politics, and surely that can only be a good thing?

No one at this stage fully knows how the next four years will play out—what kind of impact Trump will have not only in the United States, but also the entire world. I, for one, truly hope that he astonishes his critics and becomes a president we remember for all the right reasons.

Yes, his comments and actions are worrying; however, I don’t believe we should condemn anyone before giving them the opportunity to prove themselves in their role.

He has put America on center stage, and although many will be in shock right now, hanging their heads in shame, the American people have spoken. The majority of people feel this is the best candidate for the job.

One thing is for sure: Trump never falters, despite the constant personal attacks. He postures as though he has full belief in himself and his abilities, and he maintains his composure in times of severe pressure.

“There have been many bad things said about me over the years, and in some cases they’ve been true. It doesn’t bother me. If I have a fault and somebody exposes that fault or talks about that fault, you won’t hear me complain.” ~ Donald Trump

The world is clearly intrigued by Trump. We can judge, berate or try to bring him down—or we can open our minds and attempt to understand a little more about the mind of this man who has just made history. He has had a life of privilege, a life of pushing to be successful and a life of trying to rebuild and restructure when life knocks you down.

We haven’t walked in his shoes and we won’t ever know his entire story, so we will never have sufficient knowledge of his life experience to be able to fairly judge.

We may think we know him from the snippets the media shows, but in reality, we know little.

This, I believe, is a profound lesson in compassion. As the saying goes, “we all sin, so we should not cast stones toward those who sin differently.”

I believe that in times of perceived trouble or division we should do whatever it takes to unite, rather than being at odds with one another. Over these last months I have witnessed various degrading comments toward both Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump, and I truly hope that now the decision has been declared we can all once again, “promote what we love instead of bashing what we hate.”

Regardless of how we feel, Trump is going to be around for quite some time, so it is the perfect opportunity to practice a little allowance for those who express themselves differently.

I don’t believe the American people will stand by and watch their country go to ruin. There is great power in numbers, especially with social media, so when we align as one, I don’t believe there is too much to fear.

Change can be uncomfortable. It is a primitive reaction to fear the unfamiliar, but we can move past that and use this as an opportunity to become more vocal in politics, our local community, or any area of society that we feel might benefit from our input.

We are not powerless. We are empowered when together we focus on the present and the future, rather than wasting valuable energy on what is unreachable in the past.

As Trump says in his acceptance speech, “It is time for us to come together—as one united people.”

Below are a few policies that Donald Trump has declared his intention to enact:

Immigration.

One of the first things that Trump has declared he will do is build a wall to separate Mexico, and charge them the $22 million that it will cost to construct. Trump explained, “We will build a great wall along the southern border—and Mexico will pay for the wall. 100 percent. They don’t know it yet, but they’re gonna pay for the wall,” adding, “On Day One we will begin working on an impenetrable, physical, tall, powerful, beautiful southern border wall.”

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has stated that Mexico will not be paying for the wall.

Trump also described how he is going to deport all undocumented immigrants from the United States, saying, “You can call it deported if you want. The press doesn’t like that term. You can call it whatever the hell you want. They’re gone.” It is estimated that there are 11 million undocumented immigrants currently residing in the United States.

An analysis of this immigration crackdown suggests that if this policy is enforced it will cost approximately $50 billion.

Drugs.

Trump has not been definitive with his view on legalizing marijuana for recreational use, other than saying that he believes it could have problems and should be the responsibility of each state to make their own judgment. However, he has stated that he believes that using marijuana for medicinal purposes could be beneficial, saying, “Medical marijuana, medical? I’m in favor of it a hundred percent.”

Gun Control.

Donald Trump has noted that he will defend the Second Amendment and not infringe on the rights of people to bear arms.

On his campaign website Trump states, “Law-abiding people should be allowed to own the firearm of their choice. The government has no business dictating what types of firearms good, honest people are allowed to own,” adding, “What we need to do is fix the system we have and make it work as intended. What we don’t need to do is expand a broken system.”

One particular area Trump has mentioned focusing on is reintroducing the controversial stop-and-frisk in high crime areas, which allows police to randomly stop and search pedestrians to see if they are carrying a weapon.

Mental Health.

According to government figures there are currently 21 million veterans in the United States.

Trump and his supporters reportedly raised approximately $5 million dollars for veteran groups and when asked about his view on mental health issues in the military Trump explained, “When you talk about the mental health problems, when people come back from war and combat, they see things that maybe a lot of the folks in this room have seen many times over. And you’re strong and you can handle it, but a lot of people can’t handle it,” continuing, “And they see horror stories, they see events that you couldn’t see in a movie—nobody would believe it.”

Trump has declared that the ACA (Affordable Care Act) is an economic burden and that in his first day of office he will ask Congress to repeal Obamacare in full, in favor of passing reforms so that health insurance vendors can offer policies in any state. It is believed this will increase competition and decrease costs. Trump also plans to turn Medicaid into a block grant program so that individual states have the freedom to allocate funds and benefits.

Abortion.

Trump is clear on his views on abortion and has stated that he is anti-abortion, except in cases of rape, incest and mother endangerment. He plans to appoint pro-life justices to the Supreme Court to overturn the Roe versus Wade decision that has resulted in 58 million legal abortions.

When asked how to ease racial tensions in Baltimore 2016 Trump responded:

“Well, number one, I’d create economic zones. I’d create incentives for companies to move in. I’d work on spirit because the spirit is so low, it’s incredible, the unemployment, you look at unemployment for black youth in this country, African American youth, is 58-59 percent. It’s unthinkable. Unemployment for African Americans – not youth, but African Americans – is very high. And I would create in the inner cities, which is what I really do best, that’s why when I open a building and I show you it’s way ahead of schedule, under budget and everything else—I think it was the Rite Aid store, the store in Baltimore it took them 20 years to get it built, one store, and then it burned down in one night—we have to create incentives for people to love what they are doing, and to make money. And to create, you know, to really create a better life for themselves.”

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Author: Alex Myles

Image: YouTube

Editor: Toby Israel

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