LETTER

Trump, with no right to dissent?

 

As I write this, it's Day 2 of the Trump Presidency. What have we seen so far? We see Trump making his inaugural speech, promising to do everything to help all Americans achieve their goals.  We also see Trump - still on Day One - working diligently at his desk before attending the three inaugural balls. (business before pleasure.)  On the side of the people, what do we see?  Hundreds of thousands cheering on the new President; small (but many) groups of protesters peacefully expressing their unhappiness with Trump's ascendancy; other groups of protesters (hooligans, anarchists?) destroying private property; women's marches to show they are not happy with the past behaviour of the newly-minted President.

What led to Donald Trump becoming President? Could it be that Americans were unhappy with the status quo politicians? Could it be that they were looking for someone who had no political experience but who was successful in running his businesses and they wanted him to apply that know-how to running the country? We know that the American electoral system is different from the Canadian system. We know that it takes more than the majority vote to become President. (Al Gore and Hillary Clinton know all about that.) Safeguards were built into the US Constitution that asked for an Electoral College majority to determine who won the Presidency. Plain and simple, the American people wanted a change, and Trump was the vehicle!

Still, so many high profile people are questioning how he got there. Mostly, they are Democrats and "entertainment celebrities", but the fact remains:  Trump's win was legitimate. I think they should back off and allow him a chance (at least) to try to do some good for the country. His goals as stated in his inaugural address were noble. I would not classify myself as a Trump supporter, but given the election results, he is there for the next four years. Why not adopt a wait-and-see approach?

Steve d'Eça
Aylmer