5 lessons we learned from Trump’s presidency

There is only one word to describe the last four years in American politics— chaotic. There were times that I had to take a break from the news in order to preserve my mental space even while living abroad. Well, that wasn’t all on Trump, a lot of it had to do with racism in America and watching so many Black families cry out in agony over love ones gone too soon and without justice being served. Trump never stepped in to heal the country’s divide. In fact, he helped fuel the racial tensions in order to pacify his supporters—many of which—represent the underbelly of America. For four long years Trump spewed lies and conspiracies while the Republican Party sat complacent at the detriment of the country. America has never been perfect. It is the most imperfect political propaganda that somehow manage to lead the world. In spite of America’s imperfections, there are some invaluable traits that we hold sacred as Americans — the dream, democracy, and civil liberties. Trump’s presidency threatened those traits. As much as I fundamentally disagree with his character and the manner in which he chose to lead the country, there’s lots to be thankful for a Trump’s presidency. No, seriously— hear me out.

American Civics. Americans could have all used a refresher in civics and boy did we experience a crash course when Trump took office. From the moment he won the election, he started pushing the envelope against customary Washington. His proponents would argue that’s why they voted him in office—to bring an outsider into Washington politics to shake things up and get things done. Instead what they got was a man who prioritised protecting his personal and business interests by taking advantage of every grey opportunity between law and tradition. We quickly learned that many of the things we were accustomed to seeing past presidents do was based on tradition and nothing to do with the law. From appointing close family members to senior positions to not sharing tax returns — are just a few examples. “The Donald” teetered between what the American people expected from their president versus what the law required of the president. I bet there will be a lots of new laws following this presidency to ensure future office holders compliment the “character” of the office. Besides, we’ve made these changes in the law before— queue JFK and LBJ. Then again, that would require Congress to uphold the checks and balance system. Washington has become far too partisan to do their jobs. But I won’t discuss that here— the issue of party over country is for an entirely different blog all together.
The Abstention Effect. All the folks who decided to sit out on the 2016 presidential election because they didn’t “like” either candidate Trump or Clinton, learned how their no-show on election day effected the course of the country for four long years. Sure, I wasn’t excited about the candidates either but Hilary Clinton was clearly the most prepared for the job. Historians will debate all the forces against Hilary to determine why she lost the election. I think it all boils down to one simple reason, she is a woman who dared to win the candidacy for president. American men AND women did not want a female head of state. Period. People can argue all they want about her time in the Obama administration or the way she treated her husband’s mistresses but the issue of likability and the sins of her spouse are only heavily weighted and harshly scrutinised for women when they seek any positions in power. As I said, I was not nearly as excited to vote for Clinton as I was for Obama but there was no way I would vote for Trump when we had a perfectly more qualified alternative. Or even worse, not vote at all. Black people literally put their lives on the line for me ( a Black American woman) to have the right to vote and I would never dream of disrespecting their legacy by choosing not to exercise my vote.
Pu**y Power. Never in our history have we seen so many women join politics and advocacy work. We have the highest number of women and diverse women in the federal and local government. The Women’s March propelled women into those offices. Women were outraged by the blatant misogyny of Trump. That anger fuelled a generation of women leaders.
Racism still exists. Of course racism still exist. The pandemic forced us to finally pay attention and yes there’s been progress but still a long way to go.#blacklivesmatter
Resilience. We can all agree these last four years have been utterly exhausting. Perhaps, Trump is leaving us with the best lesson—the ability to bounce back after each scandal, falsehood, and ignorance of this “leadership”. Certainly the lingering effects of this administration will seep into future administrations. How many times have we’ve been at the helm of a “constitutional crisis” and each time, we wobble, we remain standing. America is resilient.

Honourable mention — Trump did his absolute best to erase Obama’s legacy but there are few things he accomplished that deserves recognition. Although he did not develop criminal justice reform, he advanced what the Obama administration already put in place by making laws retroactive among other measures. He didn’t actually have to do that—considering all the other policies he demolished or weakened— mainly environmental policy. Finally, we actually didn’t go into any new wars. When was the last time an American president didn’t engage in warfare? (notwithstanding the one he tried to incite domestically) Please do not confuse my objectivity as admiration or any form of support of Trump. I’m just being honest.

No one administration nor one president can ruin American institutions. Trump did not create the cracks in the system, he simply ripped off the thinly veiled plaster barely keeping these institutions functioning. America we have a long way to go.

~Signed Chantal Victoria — Writer, Publisher, and Academic.