Donald Trump: The Demagogue

The election results came in, with Wisconsin being the last state to vote Republican before
Donald Trump crossed the winning threshold, with 277 electoral college votes against Harris’ 244
at that time it was counted, according to the Associated Press. Along with that, the United States
Senate has also shown to have gained a majority of seats for the Republicans. Though at the time
of writing this, the votes are still being counted, it is projected that the United States Capitol and
White House will be housed by a staggering number of Republicans for the next four years. This
means several things for both the United States and the world at large, and none of which are
particularly pleasing.
Kamala Harris and Timothy Walz’s campaign showed a remarkable amount of press
coverage and so did Trump and James David Vance, the Vice President-elect. Harris and Walz’s
campaign showed a remarkable amount of passionate speeches about rights, democracy, mentions
of economy and the betterment of the middle and working class. They also looked forward on
American foreign policy, looking to continue support for Ukraine against the unjust invasion
instigated by the Russian president Vladimir Putin as well as support for Taiwan and by extension
the Philippines against Chinese aggression, which seems to be getting worse as time goes on.
Trump campaigned on his pride in the removal of the protections Roe v. Wade provided, pandering
to the most radical of right-wing authoritarians in the United States. He campaigned on
“immigrants eating the dogs.” He campaigned on pulling support away from Ukraine, getting
friendly with the authoritarian and imperialist Russian regime, and overall abandonment of
American allies. He campaigned on false claims, conspiracy theories, raising of tariffs which
would increase taxes of every American, on an authoritarian regime where he would, “not be a
dictator except on day one.” He ran on vitriol, accusations, ridicule, and lies, banking on the
ignorance of the American populace. And the whole world watched with bated breath as the most
powerful nation in the world is somehow, after all that, now under the control of Donald J. Trump
once again.
In 2016, when people first voted for Trump, they did not know what he would turn out to
be like. They only knew him as the celebrity businessman, famous for being famous, who showed
his face in so many movies, tabloids, magazines, anything one could put a face on. When he ran
in 2016, he showed less of a monster, more like a typical politician except that he was one who
would apparently speak his mind. Yet already here, many people knew what he was at the time—
a charismatic businessman who never had experience in the military or politics and already had
quite a few controversies himself. This was so that Hilary Clinton indeed garnered the popular
vote, 48.0% against Trump’s 45.9% according to the New York Times in 2017. Yet because of the
electoral college system, she only garnered 232 electoral votes with Trump gaining 306. And here
began the downward spiral.
First, on the domestic side, starting with the social aspects. It must be reminded that he
appointed specific Supreme Court justices in order to overturn Roe v. Wade, a Supreme Court
ruling that has protected the right to abortion since 1973. Republican policy during this time was,
and still is, also based on so many Christian principles despite the country’s separation of church
and state. This included the inclusion of Bible studies, exclusion of sexual education, and banning
of abortions that came as a result of poor sexual education. Combined with Trump being the
president at this time, and in came an overturning of the abortion protections.
It was also during his first tenure as president that a misunderstanding of economic policy,
one of the gamechangers in American politics since the turn of the millennium, came into fruition.
While economic growth came during his early term, it must be noted it was under the previous
administration under Barrack Obama that the economic policies that were implemented to ensure
such economic growth. Economic policies, despite the misconception and ignorance of the general
populace, do not immediately affect the economy; they happen long-term. But just like NLEX’s
being started under Benigno Aquino III and being finished under Duterte, Trump received the
credit for his predecessor’s policies on economics. His own policies were not substantial to the
American economy, the 2017 tax law skewing towards the rich, expensive in implementation, and
failed to deliver (CBPP, 2024). And yet somehow, perhaps through his own personal charisma, the
American populace praised his “reforms.”
Secondly, on the side of foreign policy, he has repeatedly shown his stance on authoritarian
governments such as North Korea and Russia. In 2018, he attempted to instigate a peace process
between the two Koreas, with Trump being the first United States president to walk into North
Korean territory. And yet, despite the attempts at peace agreements, these agreements broke down
only a year later, still within his term. It only worsened over the years, and in June 2020, Ri Son-
gwon, the North Korean foreign minister, stated that peace prospects had “faded away into a dark
nightmare.” His friendly relations with Vladimir Putin has only left Russia to be strengthened.
Supporters of Trump often criticize Pres. Biden for his shortcomings in preventing an invasion of
Ukraine, but at that point it was no longer preventable. The Russian government had been looking
for excuses, and now they received it and timed their invasion right. The war continues to this day,
with prospects for an end seeming bleaker and bleaker as the war bogs down into a stalemate, and
Trump looks to withdraw support from Ukraine. Despite his supporters’ claims that he would
strengthen peace in the Koreas and with Russia, this only showed his inability to keep American
alliances intact and enemies at bay. Who knows if he could truly defend Southeast Asia from the
aggression of the People’s Republic of China? Who knows if he would withdraw the Philippines’
military protections via the American bases stationed here?
Lastly, and it must be mentioned because somehow millions of Americans forgot, he is a
convicted criminal on 34 counts of fraud, a felony (serious crime). He has two federal cases in the
District of Columbia and Florida, along with a RICO case in Georgia (CNN, 2024). But these cases
were against him during the election, all throughout the campaign. This man, a convicted felon,
managed to win an election against a former district attorney, a prosecutor. And it must be
mentioned, the elephant in the room—January 6, 2021. Trump calls for a “wild rally” in front of
the Capitol, inciting his supporters to make a show to the Senate, demanding to show the “true”
results and have Trump as the winner. Gallows stood outside the Capitol, people crying, “Hang
Mike Pence!” Donald Trump, refusing to concede the election results, called upon his supporters
with seditious statements, inciting treason. And yet, on November 5, 2024, over 72 million people
decided that this was the man for the presidency. Never before has a convicted felon ever managed
to become president, but here we are.
Is it truly over for American democracy as many supporters of Harris say? It cannot be
ruled out, but their statements could simply be exaggeration. But there is no doubt that Donald
Trump is not the man for this task and never was. The Philippines and Taiwan should be worried,
and Ukraine certainly is. Democracy is not a perfect system; every single proponent and opponent
of it can recognize that. But sometimes, whenever it does fail, it fails majorly. And indeed, this is
one of those times it has.