I watched Donald Trump being interviewed on 60 Minutes to
get a better idea of who he really is and what we can expect from him in the
next four years.
The one big thing that I came away with after watching the
show was that neither he nor his family EVER expected to win. They believed the
polls just like everyone else in America and were certain they would lose just
like the polls predicted; they were genuinely shocked that they won.
The other impression that I came away with after the
interview and which I have always believed was that Trump said on the campaign
trail anything and everything that his followers wanted to hear no matter if what
he was saying was absolutely unrealistic or flat out lies.
During the primary campaign Trump said he could shoot
somebody on Main Street and the people would still love him and follow him and
he was right. Once he learned what these people wanted to hear, he was off to
the races and there was no stopping him; he just didn’t realize how many supporters
he really had. He knew he had the white trash but he did not realize the many
educated and well to do people were also in his camp.
It also became clear (to me) that the campaign rhetoric he
used and the things he promised may not actually be how he really thinks and
may not even be how he will act. I feel he realizes that he had to say certain
things in a certain way to get elected and now that he has been elected,
reality has to be considered.
Now this does not mean he will not try to do the things he
promised but maybe in a “different” way.
He has already said that he will not appoint a special
prosecutor to put Hillary in jail. He has also said that he may not repeal
Obamacare but maybe just fix it. Same goes for NAFTA; he will renegotiate some
aspects of the deal.
Saturday Night Live has been spoofing Trump on its show
every week and I think some of those spoofs are right on. Yesterday they had
him googling ISIS and talking to a general wanting to know his secret plan to
defeat ISIS which he obviously knows nothing about. The spoof continued with
Trump reversing himself on all his promises.
Trump does not know much about any specific issue but it
will be interesting to see if he will make an effort to learn. As a businessman
he delegated much of the work needed to run his businesses. As president he
will have to rely on the people he appoints to run the government and that is
why everyone is watching who he appoints.
His children are playing a major role in his transition team
and may continue to play keys roles in the government which will be
interesting. He is having trouble divorcing himself from his businesses and
this may prove to be problematic as conflicts of interests arise and the
Constitution is violated. His charitable organization has already admitted to
using donated money for their own benefit.
The most interesting part about Trump (to me) is his
continuous use of Twitter at all hours of the day and his childish temperament especially
when criticized. This in itself will make him the most un-presidential
president in our history.
BUT on a positive note; maybe the country needed a good kick
in the ass to shake things up or at least to show all of us how divided we really
are and that politics as usual will no longer work and should not work; we need
a new approach to politics.
