Trump win proves all elections are about bread-and-butter issues

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(Voices Today Friday 11 November 2016)

Trump win proves all elections are about bread-and-butter issues

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From  Douglas Chua -

Published: 4:00 AM, November 11, 2016

While Mr Donald Trump’s electoral success has baffled the world, we can draw lessons from this non-politician’s journey to the most powerful political office on earth (“Trump triumphs”; Nov 11).

Barely 18 months ago, many people might not have heard of, let alone look out for, him. The media and the establishment did not give him a chance of going beyond the primaries.

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Not only did his party go on to nominate him, he has become the most talked-about person globally since then, and the rest is history.

How did an outsider businessman manage to win the hearts and minds of people to become their 45th president? First, bread-and-butter issues are central to any election.

Unlike his opponent, who ironically focused on character and morality, Mr Trump promised people what they wanted to hear: Jobs — by removing the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Trans-Pacific Partnership — money and an inclusive, brighter future.

He also promised to address concerns over healthcare costs by repealing and replacing Obamacare.

Second, in a world under siege by terrorists, security is everyone’s concern, including in Singapore.

When Mr Trump first raised the issue of building a wall along the border with Mexico, everyone scorned him.

But when Americans witnessed terror attacks in Paris, Germany, California and Florida, they realised that security was paramount to their livelihood.

They felt that his suggestion was at least a partial solution to prevent illegal immigrants and drugs from entering the country.

His ideas of protecting the country resonated with people, especially those who had lost loved ones.

If Singapore had a land border with Johor instead of a sea, we might have built a wall for security reasons too.

As the Islamic State continues to threaten world peace, Mr Trump proposed controversially to ban Muslims from entering the United States as a stopgap measure. World leaders condemned this as racist.

But Americans who were sick and tired of being whipping boys felt that it was time to put their safety first and that even if any such measure would be temporary, it was good enough.

The nett impact is that Americans felt he cared for them, identified with them, could understand their problems and wanted to protect them. Succinctly stated, he was able to uplift them and they trusted him to be their president.