In her concession speech on November 9, Hillary Clinton asked us to be open-minded and to give the President-elect the opportunity to lead. It is a challenge to understate the disappointment and shock Clinton’s request was for millions of supporters. For most voters, this result was simply shocking, but for many this was a resounding defeat of the inclusive values that many strongly believed held a place in American life.
A campaign of divisive rhetoric with too many insults and outrageous statements to list lead our next president to the Oval Office. Mr. Trump is now the leader, not only of a movement against the liberal norms of P.C. culture, but of millions who feel that his campaign represented the lowest point in American history.
As sudden and shocking as his victory has been Trump’s remarkable reversal on a number of his most crowd-pleasing, impossible campaign promises. Trump has demurred on his threats to jail his political opponent, build a border wall and make Mexico pay for it, to completely repeal Obamacare and to ban all Muslims from entering the United States. This seems to offer hope for Americans for whom these promises were nothing less than an all-out assault on American values and the Constitution.
It has now become easier to give the President-elect the benefit of the doubt. As he tells reporters that he will continue to seek advice and counsel from President Obama and backs down on his bigoted, hateful and demeaning rhetoric. It almost seems possible to think that the weight of the presidency and the Republican establishment might simply crush him into submission.
While it seems possible that Trump will quickly abandon his supporters and their hopes, it is far too early to for the #ImWithHer camp to rejoice over Trump’s come-to-Jesus moment.
Trump’s presidency still poses major threats to American values to an unprecedented degree. His post-victory pause in spewing hatred and fifth may be fleeting and nothing should excuse the racism, xenophobia and sexism he attempted to normalize during his campaign. He has still appointed a white supremacist and alleged domestic abuser to serve as a chief advisor. He continues to ignore science to deny climate change and remains in opposition to the right of women to control their bodies.
To the liberals and Hillary supporters who have begun to take heart in Trump’s reversals, do not be encouraged by the words of a man whose only consistency has been inconsistency. Do not hope that a man who has lied repeatedly and boldly and demeaned women his entire life will suddenly feel the importance of the White House and straighten up like a naughty schoolboy. Trump remains a threat to years of progress towards inclusivity, tolerance, and hopefulness.
