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The second coming of Donald Trump as the 47th President of the United States (US) has been received with great trepidation in US and across the world. The 45th President of America, who will in January 20, 2025 become its 47th President, will assume power in the country at a period marked with great uncertainty as to what Trump will do or will not do. He is a man not known for finesse in taking and executing policies.
It is contradictory that a man who said he will be a dictator from day one and who will build great wall US border with Mexico and deport thousands of undocumented aliens and said so many things about Haitians in Ohio, including eating pets, be allowed to cruise to victory in America, the so-called bastion of democracy in the world. What the Trump presidency will do with the economy now being hit by inflation and possible job losses, grappling with unfavourable trade tariffs with China and his isolationism principle anchored on his ‘America for America’ rhetoric remains to be seen when his administration is inaugurated in January. It also remains to be seen how Trump will handle the Russia/Ukraine war, the war in the Middle East and the US relations with NATO, Asia and Africa.
How did a felon and divisive fellow like Trump despite all odds manage to win the November 5 presidential election against a more refined and promising candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris? If characters like Trump and others of his ilk can be produced by democracy, it is time we begin to interrogate the essence of democracy. Has democracy lost its essence and meaning? Is democracy still the best form of government as being promoted by the West? Which other alternatives do we have outside Western democracy? What can the proponents of democracy as the best form of government and those who still believe that the US democratic process, including its election is still the best do with Trump, who declared himself the winner of the poll even before it was official declared?
The victory of Trump in the election stunned the world and many people inside America, especially, the Democrats. No doubt, Trump’s victory surprised many people. It was an unlikely victory by an unlikely candidate. Will Trump’s next dispensation be as chaotic as his first coming? Will it be an improvement on his first coming? The world watches with great anxiety and great trepidation the second coming of Donald Trump, the intemperate and unsteady character, who does not reckon with the US diversity and the female gender. During his campaigns and debates with Harris, Trump did not hide his disdain for her race and gender. He frequently questioned her identity, race and competence. Harris was called a ‘childless cat lady’ by Vice President-elect, JD Vance. Trump’s campaign was filled with hate rhetoric, race and gender biases and stereotypes. Trump didn’t know if Harris is black or Asia.
Trump rode to victory by pretending to be a Christian and pro-life. His rhetoric resonated well with the Evangelicals, some black people in the US and some uninformed ‘born-again’ Christians in Nigeria, who believe that Trump will stop gay and lesbian culture and other sexual aberrations tacitly promoted by the West which they even force countries in Africa and Asia to conform with. Failing to do so, they will be denied of aids, loans and other technical assistance. Some people believe that Trump will work for their freedom in Africa.
Trump said so many sweet things on the economy and foreign policy, things he will not comfortably do in the next four years. Trump cannot cut trade with China or give them harsh conditions. China is an economic power that America can hardly do without. His promise of ending the Russia/Ukraine war within 24 hours of his assumption of office is a huge joke. Trump cannot achieve peace in the Middle-East. His pro-Netanyahu rhetoric cannot guarantee peace in the region. Anyone who believes that Trump will resolve the Middle East war is just deluding himself. A Trump presidency will even prolong the Israeli/Hamas confrontation. His policy towards the Middle East will not be significantly different from what obtained during his first coming.
It is not possible that Trump will isolate US from NATO and other global agencies. Trump does not believe in climate change issues. He repudiated the existence of COVID-19 pandemic and called it a China virus. Will Trump reverse what Biden has done to tackle the climate change challenges? I doubt it. The victory of Trump has once again exposed the hypocrisy of American democracy which is still utterly patriarchal and male-dominated. The American political establishment is not yet ready for a female president. They feel uncomfortable with a female Commander-in-Chief.
They exhibited this anxiety when Hilary Clinton vied against Donald Trump in 2016. They had done it again against Kamala Harris in 2024. For Kamala Harris, it was a double burden, race and gender. Apart from the foregoing which worked against Harris, the Biden’s late withdrawal from the race after a disastrous debate with Trump did not help the Harris campaign. In other words, Harris came very late into the race. Despite the late entry into the race, Harris had a refined and good campaign. Many thought that Harris would win the race but at the end, Trump emerged victorious in spite of his fiery rhetoric.
Is there any lesson Nigeria and other emerging democracies can learn from the US election? There are many. Let our candidates learn to concede defeat in an election and congratulate the winner. Only former President Goodluck Jonathan had demonstrated this spirit of sportsmanship. The rest will always go up to the Supreme Court to seek for justice after election whether they were defeated fairly or not. No Nigerian politician ever believes that he will lose an election. All of them are incurable optimists. Good luck to all of them in the next national poll.
The nation’s electoral umpire can copy the US electoral system and how they conduct presidential elections in months with early voters mailing their votes while a few will actually do the physical voting on the Election Day. Election results are announced from every state and the people see them real time. In Nigeria, INEC will blame technical hitches for its inefficiency and collate the results without reflecting them on its IREV and announce the results in the middle of the night or so many days after.
This untidiness on the part of the electoral umpire has led to charges of interference, manipulation and rigging in our polls. The Electoral College votes help to ensure a clear winner in the US presidential poll. We may do so in Nigeria. If elections are transparent, free and fair as the US poll, losers will readily concede defeat and congratulate the winners. Jonathan conceded defeat probably because the poll that brought Muhammadu Buhari to power in 2015 was fair. Consequently, all other presidential elections following it had been characterized by rigging and other electoral infractions.
