In his victory speech last night, after thanking all those who stood by him and helped him to victory and, then after graciously praising Hillary Clinton saying “Hillary has worked very long and very hard over a long period of time, and we owe her a major debt of gratitude for her service to our country. I mean that very sincerely.” After that opening, the very first thing he then said was this:
“We are going to fix our inner cities and rebuild our highways, bridges, tunnels, airports, schools, hospitals. We’re going to rebuild our infrastructure, which will become, by the way, second to none. And we will put millions of our people to work as we rebuild it.”
This statement of purpose – and mind you, I reiterate, was the very first thing he said after the obligatory expressions of gratitude and, I believe, sincere praise for Hillary Clinton.
This is straight out of FDR’s New Deal.
I have been waiting for someone with the reins of power to say this as succinctly as the new President-elect said it.
Based on the knowledge that Donald Trump will say anything, do anything in order to win, I have the sneaking suspicion that now, having done so, he will govern from the center. Call me crazy, but based on that simple declaration of intent regarding the re-building of our infrastructure, I am willing to bet that a President Trump will confound us all – including the Republican Party.
In fact, I am far more fearful of the Republican Party than I am of a President Trump. Remember, he was a Democrat a few short years ago. His stubborn refusal to lose may, in fact, be the thing that can overcome the Republican unwillingness to compromise for the good of this country.
I don’t even think we will know if my reading of this is on the mark or just wishful thinking by who he names to his cabinet. This is because I believe that he believes he can bend anyone to his will, and his calculation, as a deal-maker, will be that he needs the Republican Party to be on his side. The way we will know if I am way wrong about this is simply by who a President Trump nominates to The Supreme Court and what he proposes in his first 100 days.
In what appears to many to be our darkest hour I cannot help be cautiously optimistic about the direction Donald Trump might steer our great nation.
© tony powers and Barking in the Dark, 2016. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to tony powers and Barking in the Dark with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Barking In The Dark 
Tony all I can do is hope he will return to previous ideologies and try to govern fairly. Who knows? The thing with Trump was, and this is coming from a lifelong wrestling fan, Trump was a master at giving a wrestling promo. He said what his audience wanted to hear, just as he said all the right (well, actually left) things in the 1990’s while palling around with Bill Clinton on the golf course. He is a businessman yes, but business is sales at some point, so he is a very successful salesman. The simple direct sound byte speaking style, the hyperbole, making everything seem special & exclusive…that he is brilliant at. So did he just sell all of his zealots a bill of goods? We’ll see.
My take is this shocked him as much as anyone. His demeanor at his speech election night was something he never demonstrated before. Most took it as humility or being in awe. No. It was Trump, perhaps for the first time in his life, uncertain and scared about his future. As a billionaire he didn’t sweat whether a hotel was successful. His whole life has been secure and plotted out. All morning & afternoon he was preparing to cut a heel wrestling promo bashing the system and saying “I told you so, it’s rigged!”, but there he was, in a place I don’t think he ever really fathomed he would be, the next President of the United States.
Be cool…
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Posted by Johnny Spade | November 10, 2016, 9:04 pmthanx man, i am still trying to process this event. i have some dear friends angry at me for trying to be hopeful. and now i think, in view of his pick to oversee our environment, i am very wrong in cutting him any slack. so goes trying to make lemonade out of lemons.
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Posted by barkinginthedark | November 10, 2016, 10:01 pmI’ve wondered the same thing however I think his greed will overcome any integrity and morals which may have leeched out. He will want to get rid of minimum salary, which much of the GOP wants, too. Also, destroy unions. But the first thing I suspect they’ll do is repeal Obamacare — which is where I get my insurance. Renewable energy? You can kiss that goodbye. He may bring more jobs from rebuilding the infrastructure but he will destroy just as many alone the way as well as move us back a couple decades. Same-sex marriage will be repealed. But the biggest problem will be the selection of ultra-right wing supreme court judges. What I am hoping will happen, though, is people will begin to realize their mistake and we can gain in both the House and Senate and elect a Dem president in 4 years.
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Posted by Michelle | November 10, 2016, 2:50 pmMichelle, i am hoping that i am close to being right but fearing i am wrong. re “What I am hoping will happen, though, is people will begin to realize their mistake and we can gain in both the House and Senate and elect a Dem president in 4 years.” this is my fervent hope if i am, as i fear, wrong. This could lead to Elizabeth Warren as President, Bernie Sanders in the cabinet and a Prog Congress. fingers crossed in all events. thanx sweetheart…keep plugging in the great way you do – i will. continue…
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Posted by barkinginthedark | November 10, 2016, 4:04 pm“If we choose, we can live in a world of comforting illusion”
Noam Chomsky
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Posted by howard | November 9, 2016, 10:43 pmhmmmmm…no smartypants – per my assessment of Trump’s M.O. i would just prefer to wait and see before going to the wailing wall. thanx mister 🙂 continue…
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Posted by barkinginthedark | November 9, 2016, 11:00 pmGood. Let’s go with that, Tony! 😉 xoM
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Posted by Margarita | November 9, 2016, 7:37 pmthat is my plan. i will wait and see. : -) backatchya continue…
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Posted by barkinginthedark | November 9, 2016, 7:46 pmHi Tony-I was anxious to read what you wrote today after this election. I find I agree with you. I was surprised by his speech, after the crowd is yelling ‘Lock her up” all the way until he came out. I loved that he said he wants to work on the infrastructure right off the bat and I remember he was a Democrat. So I’m a little more hopeful, but not a whole lot because the Republicans control everything and they have been gunning for Obamacare and Social Security for a long time. We shall see….
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Posted by Denise Larocque | November 9, 2016, 4:20 pmHi Denise, let us hope he doesn’t wanna go down that road and can bully them all to follow, thanx sweetheart…a big hi to you and Roger. continue…
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Posted by barkinginthedark | November 9, 2016, 6:11 pmAs a black person and as a woman, I can’t. Any good he may try to get past the Republican congress will always be marred by the pain he has perpetrated on so many Americans, by what he was willing to say and do to win, by the person he is at his core. I get where you are coming from. It doesn’t strike me as an about face. I just seem to be coming from a more painful, hopeless place.
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Posted by Sparks In Shadow | November 9, 2016, 3:10 pmHi Re, i feel you…yes, i am hopeful – i think it’s the only sane way to deal with this slap in the face by white, dumb America. but i do believe he’s really not on their side. stay strong and continue…
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Posted by barkinginthedark | November 9, 2016, 6:13 pmthanks t! after working 10-14 hour shifts daily (this last week for move on) i woke up this morning and couldn’t stop crying. i’m ok now and this helps. xo
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Posted by lisajuly | November 9, 2016, 3:02 pmi am glad that these thoughts could help- and i do believe that this is how it’s gonna sort itself out. all the pundits are missing the point about Trump; winning is all that counts and what he says and what he does are 2 different things. let’s hope the office makes the man – i think it will. xoxo continue…
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Posted by barkinginthedark | November 9, 2016, 6:19 pmYeah. I’m quite curious to see what he’ll do. Hopefully it will be something at least kinda OK.
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Posted by inspiredbythedivine1 | November 9, 2016, 2:58 pmme too man, me too. continue…
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Posted by barkinginthedark | November 9, 2016, 6:19 pm