Laz Apir in this opinion piece shares perspectives on the presidential election and imminent second coming of Donald Trump as president of the US
Trump’s entire campaign was built and hotly running against incumbent President Joe Biden up until July 2024 when like Trump, the world woke up to the news that President Biden would no longer be running for a second term due to inability to function optimally as a result of his old age. What followed soon after was the obvious endorsement of his Vice President, Kamala Harris. Not only was she a woman but also, of color. If elected, she would be the first female president of US, doubling as the first woman of color to be elected as President of US. This was exciting!
Expectedly, the entire Democratic ranks led by former President Barack Obama filed out with endorsements of Kamala’s candidacy. Celebrities, Athletes, and Media and Business Moguls followed in the endorsement galore. Trump’s camp must have been overwhelmed with having to re-strategize their campaign to suit Kamala Harris. Or maybe they did not have to.
All these were on the back of Trump’s indictment in May of 2024, being the first US President to be tried and convicted of crimes. A New York jury reached its verdict on May 30, finding Trump guilty on all 34 counts. Add this to the fact that same Trump was impeached twice while in office as President of the United State of America. Now you understand how Trump’s victory at the polls on November 5, 2024 was against all odds.
Trump winning against all odds and the global prediction machines is not the breaking news now.
Was the world going to sink if Trump failed to win? Why did the established code of neutrality broken; if not shattered so badly? Was the 2024 election really a make or mar election for the US with far reaching implications for the rest of the world?
The posers above will not go back in time to alter the outcome of the US 2024 Presidential election. However, America and other democracies can do well to appreciate some of the learnings presented by the 2024 US election.
One of the most fundamental lessons is how Trump’s victory shattered the “Liberal farce” that has engulfed the world as actively propagated by the left wing; predominantly popular with the US Democrats. When voices like Professor Jordan Peterson, Ben Shapiro, Piers Morgan and Joe Rogan questioned when will it be consider too far left as pushed by liberals, they were misunderstood. Perhaps Trump’s victory is loud enough to stimulate introspection and sober reflection by the left-wing ideologues. What is wrong with promoting and preserving traditional institutions, customs, and values. Clearly, not all of the world is on the left wing “steep slope of anything goes”. Sometimes, change for the sake of change must be discouraged and even resisted. A ready case in hand is how the state is willing to usurp a parent’s rights over their own child that is a minor on the issue of sexuality. If someone less than 18 years of age does not have the right to vote in US elections, why should they have the right to decide what gender they ‘think they want to be’ against the gender at birth? Why can’t they be told by their parents to wait until they are adults to make such a big irreversible decision? Trump’s stance against this was loud and clear, still, he got majority of support to emerge at the polls. This is one of many issues the US and indeed, other democracies around the world need to appreciate. Sometimes, the opinion receiving the most applause is not the popular or right one, the majority are only waiting for a decisive moment to uphold the popular and right view. Don’t always go with the initial crowd.
It is just not enough being “the first” of something, especially not when so much is at stake globally. Don’t get me wrong on this issue. I am one hundred percent for equality of opportunities in just about anything universally. Women should not be disqualified from aspiring and being elected into any political office. Not every man elected as President, Governor, Senator or House Member eventually succeeded, women have an equal right to also succeed or fail as President, Governor, Senator and or House Member and should be elected. However, the 2024 US election was much more than just being a first to be elected anything. There needed to be clear evidence of competence and willingness to make hard and tough choices on a global scale. On this, I dare say Hilary Clinton is evidently more qualified than Trump, she was only unlucky to have run against Trump when he was bringing newness to US politics in DC. With Kamala and the 2024 elections, it was Trump who never minced words on key issues bedeviling the global state of affairs (Israel-Palestine war, Russia-Ukraine war and the steep slope of sex rights). He was sometime even bold enough to give the number of hours he will end an entire war that has been on for years. Statements like “on day one, I will sign an executive order banning transgender men from women sports” were common with Trump’s candidacy. Something VP Kamala clearly avoided. All said and done, the electorates have unmasked some of these narratives and want more than just first this or first that. Politics is not a candy handing venture. It’s about people’s lives and must be accorded the right amount of assurances.
Another vital lesson to glean from the election is an old known but sometimes over looked fact. Politics is local impacting all and sundry including the business and faith people. The 2024 US Presidential election had both the entertainment industry and Silicon Valley big masquerades like Oprah Winfrey and Elon Musk out on rally podiums campaigning. Church leaders took a stand and actively called their members to take action for or against candidates. And this is right, when things get as messy and they currently are globally. There is no fence to sit on when one’s very existence is threatened. This is a big lesson for African countries like Nigeria where business and entertainment moguls and church leaders tend to play the ostrich at critical and decisive moments of fixing leadership, only to show their faces and talk nonsense to the wailing masses. If they fail to learn this lesson, sooner than later, whatever it is they seem to be protecting will still be lost in one fell swoop of a crisis that has been building up for a while.
Fourthly, no nation is without Identity. We can fancifully sound all politically correct as much as we enjoy the sound of our voices, but when we come to the cross-roads of having to choose between negotiating our values or upholding our values, who we are; can no longer be veiled. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is very clear on self-preservation. Our racial and ethnic identities are key determinants of our value systems even in the fast-paced social media order. Trump’s victory is a testament to the fact that not everyone is sold and bought in the market place of individuality. Family values that feed community values still have a place and there are those who will resist any attempt to bastardize such an order. African societies that are especially deep rooted on this should now understand that giving up on such critical existential values is foolish, a majority of Westerners are opposed to it in 2024.
Lastly, the world needs to realize from Trump’s victory that “free speech” is the last ammunition in the arsenal of the citizens. The ever-conniving elites’ preference is to reduce free speech as much as their actions can no longer be questioned. And this may be the one reason someone like Elon Musk mounted the campaign podium to canvass support for Trump. Same reason he paid so much to acquire Twitter (now X). Trump himself embodies free speech, something the elite politicians do not enjoy about him. He shares the truth available to him and is ready to callout those veiling truths that should be public knowledge. The opposite is what countries in Africa are experiencing. Any candidate that is willing to bring in the masses on the lies of the elites is quickly ostracized by the elites’ gang up.
Trump’s 316 college votes in 2024 which even surpassed his 304 in 2016 when he was first elected is not to be taken lightly. Especially not when he had many more odds stacked against his presidential ambition. He is no saint and not necessarily the most qualified to fix the mess right now, but he was adjudged the better option available in 2024 by the American electorates.
This is a big lesson for electorates around the world; find the better option and make progress with every given election. Sitting at home on election day will not move a needle in fixing the broken system. When the mess stacks up, those willing to clean must stack higher up.
Laz Apir writes from Abuja Nigeria and is an election enthusiast with over 14 years working on elections. Can be reached via apirlaz@gmail.com and @lazapir on X.
