Whilst I agree with your sentiment..........I always wonder, when I read things about other countries, just how much truth there is to what we are told. Having been through the recent election, and several others before, where the media lies and distorts to suit their agenda, I simply don't take things at face value anymore. That's despite being a fully fledged, Guardian reading, lifelong Labour voting, Tory scum hating lefty.
There's no doubt that Trump is hugely divisive to lots of people around the world but the reality is that most Americans just don't give a shit. They live in small countries within a large country and all they care about is looking after number one. The USA is without doubt a right wing country with an occasional left wing idea - ObamaCare being one. The culture is as dog eat dog as anywhere and Trump personifies that. The right love him because he isn't shy about saying it and the left (which is still way to the right) hate him because he reminds them that they aren't much different really.
He is undoubtedly a very simple minded man, but that was his appeal to the voters - doing away with professional politicians - and who's to say he won't be good for America in the long term? I feel like he's providing a shock to the old world order, which is no bad thing. Unfortunately, he's also the very epitome of rich, privileged, WASP power and he's got no intention of giving it up anytime soon.
Up the revolution my son!
Interesting comments, but I think there's a danger of over-simplifying why and how Trump won the election, and of oversimplifying Americans too.
There are many things about the Yanks that mark them up as very different to us. For starters, they might fight like cats and dogs when an election campaign is on, but once a President is elected, most people will get behind them. It's not been the case with Trump, but it's been the case pretty much universally before Trump.
Second, the USA is nothing like as 'right wing' as many think. In many ways, they've taken on socially-levelling attitudes and policies that we've never had. Unions are much more powerful, and layers of government at county, state and federal level are wider, deeper, bigger and more expensive than anything we've ever experienced in the UK. It's an admin-heavy and deeply regulated country. For example, last year I took over a company in California. The paperwork was and is off the scale, and the taxes, dues and regulations involved are on a scale I have never experienced here. All designed, of course, to support the state as well as the unemployed, homeless, war vets, and everyone else.
As regards your dog-eat-dog comment, while business in many ways is very cut throat, I've found in my many travels around the US and longer periods of time spent in California, that on a social and macro level, people can be very supportive of each other, particularly when it comes to self-help groups, looking after the elderly and infirm, and so on. I'm not here to write a thesis, but this has been my experience.
Trump has managed to get a lot of people onside. Yes, he's a privileged New York WASP, but he's a practical guy, perceived as self-made, even if he isn't really. Americans love practicality, and mostly abhor pretension. The fact he puts his foot in it so many times, and comes across as a braggart, doesn't matter to most Americans.
