Many are absolutely ecstatic that 2016 has come to an end. Whether it is the incredible loss from those who have entertained us to the election of Donald Trump, most were happy to say goodbye to 2016. A new day has come.
President-elect Trump will soon be President Trump and nothing can be done to change the course of history. The question is what can the country expect? I think we should expect the unexpected. In truth, we know little about what Trump will do during his presidency and that is disconcerting to say the least. A new day of uncertainty has come. Trump has no core principles. Ivanka Trump is a climate change advocate, yet he appoints a climate change denier to the Environmental Protection Agency. Who will rule the day?
Will Donald Trump support legislation that makes women pay a price for terminating a pregnancy as he said on the campaign trail or was that just another talking point to rally his base? Trump claims that “lock her up” was just a campaign meme. Trump has indicated he has no interest in prosecuting Hillary Clinton and he has moved on. Will Trump also move on concerning a woman’s right to choose? Or inflict punishment to women who seek the treatment?
Trump trumpets his unpredictability as one of his biggest assets, which is true in business but not so much in world affairs. Unpredictability gives you an advantage in business negotiations because the other side is off balance. Will Trump get up from the table because he hates the business deal and leave the other party begging him to come back to the table? Absolutely. Trump feels you keep all options open, including walking away.
In world affairs, walking away from a deal may actually be an escalation of conflict. In business, the deal simply did not get done so the project does not move forward. In world affairs, people may die, a war may happen or new alliances against the United States may form.
Trump seems to embrace both Israel and Russia, yet he seems to want to fight with China. Will that be his foreign policy; no one knows because what Trump says today may change tomorrow. A new day comes.
Gone are the days of a predictable foreign or domestic policy, good or bad. Now we enter a world where the leader of the free world may decide to tweet hate to a world leader because the leader did not like the sartorial quality of Trump ties.
Unpredictability on the world stage breeds anxiety, anxiety breeds fear, fear breeds a fight or flight reaction. I don’t anticipate China or Russia having a flight reaction, which means Trump’s unpredictability may result in unintended consequences. A new day comes.
Goodbye President Obama, the LGBT community owes you a debt of gratitude for all you have done for us in a short eight years. A new day comes.
STAMPP CORBIN
PUBLISHER
San Diego LGBT Weekly
