Contributed by Joe Montero

Donald Trump’s win in the United States Presidential election was the best outcome possible under the circumstances. Don’t get me wrong. Why? Because these are unusual times, and a Kamala Harris win would have been worse for the United States and the world.

A trump victory was predictable a year ago. Joe Biden was failing, and overall life was getting worse for most Americans. The Democratic Party was not listening. Resentment was growing. Foreign policy under Biden was a disaster. The Biden administration embroiled itself in using Ukraine as a proxy to wage war on Russia. It led to disaster. Then it became the enabler, and in reality, handler of Israel as a proxy to commit genocide against Gaza and the Palestinian population. This too has led to disaster.

Then on Biden’s bowing out the Democrat controllers did another Hilary Clinton. They imposed an unelectable Kamela Harris as his replacement. Her major qualification was that she would continue on Biden’s direction. Additionally, she could be presented as a black woman and used for diversionary identity politics campaign. Core issues could be ignored.

The majority of Americans are opposed to war. This especially applies to Americans of Middle East background, and they deserted the Democrats in droves. This was most pronounced in Michigan.

Domestically, almost nothing had been done to tackle the cost-of-living crisis and housing crisis. Nothing had been done to create proper full-time jobs and turn around the fall in real wages. This alienated many working-class Americans.

African Americans and Hispanics have also been increasingly isolated by the Democrat connected privileged elite leaderships within their own communities, which had led them to the Democrats with lots of promises that have never been delivered. A substantial portion of these communities voted for Trump in protest.

Many within all three groups didn’t bother to cast a vote. A few went for minor candidates. Out of 244 million eligible voters only about 89 million voted. This is less than half, and it tells a story of its own. Most Americans are alienated from the electoral process and don’t believe they get a real choice. The count didn’t reflect their wishes and aspirations.

^{Cartoon by Liu Rui/GT}

The underlying reality is that this is a political system under the control of a handful of people whose power lies in their vast wealth and network of contacts. Many Americans realise that the electoral system is highly undemocratic. The elite controls both the Democrat and Republican parties. It finances their election campaigns in return for ensuring its wishes are carried out.

The Democrats entered this election race claiming that this was a vote for Democracy. Most Americans did not buy it. Many recognised that whoever comes out on top, business will mostly go on as usual. No matter who takes on the presidency, they will be constrained by those wielding the real power.

What made Trump the preferable option?

The Democrats have been occupying the White House and the government over the last period and proved to operate against the interests of the people and nation. They have proven to be a danger to the world. Their pro-war credentials are clear. A victory for them would have given them greater credibility and something of a mandate to continue with more of the same, and what lies ahead is more important than the 2024 vote. The Democrat loss sends out a message that not listening and operating for the people is the road to political oblivion.

Trump brings an uncertain element. He promises to end war in Ukraine. This is positive. He is a little inconsistent regarding to Israel. This means there is the possibility of some flexibility. The downside is he wants to confront China. Domestically, he promises to look after the little guy. The downside is he threatens to bring in more authoritarianism.

The point is Trump will not be able to do too much because he too does not really control the decisive political power. his backers and handlers will see to it.

This brings us to this an unavoidable conclusion. The Republicans and Democrats represent two wings of the same Wall Street elite. While the Democrats are currently the most favoured by the old money, and reportedly received nearly three-quarters of the money from the big donors, the Republicans were still dependent on their portion. The main difference is that Trump and some of his backers are outsiders, wanting to rise to the top within the ranks of the elite. There is a certain amount of rebelliousness, which marks them a little anti-establishment, and this means a certain inconsistency. They have the potential to stray a little from Wall Street interests.

Now that the dust has settled, it is obvious that the number of voters favouring Trump hardly shifted from 2020. It was the Democrats who failed to attract the numbers. This is covered by the vastly undemocratic electoral college system where 5321individuals have the final vote. They went 295 for Trump and 221 for Harris.

This is not the same as the popular vote. If looked at from this viewpoint, Trump won by little more than 1 percent. The reality is that Trump remains on insecure footing in a political system that although not dead, has lost a great deal of legitimacy.

The political maturing of the United States needs a decisive shift away from the illusion of choice. This cannot happen while the false belief that the Democrats represent the interests of working class, and black and brown Americans. There must be a break from the lesser of two evils politics, which keeps the majority trapped in a slow decline. The shift is best served with the Democrat’s loss this time.

This provides an opportunity for debate about building a real alternative. It’s up to the American people to find out how to do this.