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Thursday, March 28, 2024

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The most unlikely election of our time has ended with the most unlikely result. Against enormous odds, Donald J. Trump is president-elect of the United States.

This was the contrarian election. Trump’s anti-establishment message resonated. Hillary Clinton had the funding, the ground game, and a sitting president campaigning for her. But the ultimate outsider beat the ultimate Washington insider.

The deplorables have spoken; they repudiated the establishment, the ruling elites, the special interests and the smug media.

We saw this up and down the ballot. Republicans will keep control of the House and Senate.

In North Carolina, the “smart” play might have been to vote for candidates who would repeal HB2, repair the state’s brand, and bring back business. Backlash against the bill might cost Pat McCrory the governorship, but otherwise it was a good night for Republicans, who remain firmly in control of the state Senate and House.

Just maybe, it too was the contrarian effect from people tired of being lectured by celebrities refusing to perform here, and disgusted at being bullied by the likes of the NCAA.

So Trump has done if not the impossible, certainly the extremely unlikely. But that was, in many ways, the easy part. Now he has to begin make America great again.

He should not repeat the hubris of the current president and adopt an “I won, y’all just need to get over it” attitude. Trump won in the Electoral College, but as of Wednesday midday with 99 percent of the precincts reporting, he had not won the popular vote, trailing by some 200,000 votes.

He has a lot of ground to make up and it appears he realizes it. His victory speech was a great beginning.  “It is time for us to come together as one united people,” he said. “I will be president for all Americans.” He promised to “bind the wounds of division” and “seek common ground, not hostility.” Intentionally or not, he echoed the “with malice toward none, with charity for all” theme of Lincoln’s second inaugural address.

He needs to own those words. He is president of all Americans.

This most inexperienced president ever will surround himself with smart, qualified people. Not Washington insiders, but hopefully not his new political cronies, either. He would do well to set aside his “I know better than anyone” attitude and make use of wise advice and experienced counsel.

He needs to rapidly get past his feuds with leading members of his own party. Trump needs to work with them to keep his promises to the American people.

It’s not going to be enough to just repeal Obamacare. It has to be replaced with something that works. It’s not enough to rail against the illegals. He needs a workable immigration policy.

He should reverse the uptick toward an imperial presidency. America’s founders brilliantly wrote a series of checks and balances into the Constitution of these United States. We need to return to the Constitution, and stop ruling by executive orders and memos.

Trump was roundly pummeled for misogynist statements he has made. He needs to prove what he says about himself is true. He should appoint smart, principled women to positions of influence. Please, not Sarah Palin. Daughter Ivanka, maybe.

The first draft of this column on Tuesday was advice to president-elect Clinton, assuming Clinton would take the presidency.

I was going to remind folks on the losing side that the sun still came up on Wednesday, that this is a strong, resilient nation that can survive no matter who is president. Those words are still applicable.

It was going to advise the media large and small to put away the personal agendas and return to its vital role of reporting honestly and critically — of heeding the wise words of George Orwell: “Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed: everything else is public relations.” Somehow, that doesn’t seem like it will be a problem under a Trump presidency.

Finally, it was going to urge everyone to pray. Please do that. This country — and this president-elect — needs it.

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