What Trump’s victory means

By Max Charles | gargoyle@flagler.edu
On the morning of Nov. 9, 2016 the American public woke up, brewed a pot of coffee, flipped on the morning news and witnessed the outcome of one of the biggest upsets of the presidential election since our nation was founded. Nearly all of the polls and exit polls had Hillary Clinton winning by nearly 60 Electoral College votes. The Trump victory came as a shock to most people when he won by a margin of 74 Electoral College votes.
“I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning waiting to hear the outcome. I thought Clinton was going to easily win, but then states kept going for Trump. I still can’t believe he won,” said Joe Tahan, a 21-year-old student at Flagler College.
Not only was it a shock for the people of the United States, people from all over the world tuned in to see who would be the new leader of the free world. So what will Trump’s presidency mean for the rest of the planet?
Immigration has been a key point of emphasis for Trump’s campaign and Trump says it will be one of the first things addressed during his tenure as president. If Trump cannot convince Mexico to pay for a wall, he will need the approval of Congress to fund the building of a barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border.
“I don’t think Trump will be as bad as some Latinos think he will be,” said Andy Olivero, a 21-year-old Flagler College student from Guatemala.
“I think we have to wait and see before we can make judgments on what he plans on doing and what is right or wrong for America.”
Trump also rejects the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade agreement between 12 countries in the Pacific Rim that limits trade tariffs. He had called signing the agreement “the rape of our country” during his campaign. On top of this Trump’s plan suggests imposing a 35 percent tariff on American companies that outsource jobs to other countries and a 45 percent tariff on Chinese imports.
“Some of the ideas Trump has could work. We have to stay tuned,” said Olivero. Nick Yodonis a 21-year-old student at Flagler College, is happy that Trump got elected. “He has some good policies and he seems to put America before all others, which is what we need right now.”
Trump also says U.S. leaders need to put America first, saying the nation could pull out of NATO, a military alliance between a group of North American and European countries if they don’t account for more of the cost of the world’s security.

“It might not be the end of the world if America and Russia got along for once. They have pretty much hated each other since World War II, so why not become allies and see what it could do for the world?” said Olivero.

According to multiple media outlets, an American and Russian friendship could reportedly be a possibility during Trump’s tenure. Trump was scrutinized by the press for his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the campaign, but denied ever meeting the Russian leader. Putin has reportedly said kind words of the president-elect and Trump has since said he thinks the two countries could “get along well.”

This has worried some countries in NATO, like Latvia, where Vice President Joe Biden visited recently amongst growing Russian tensions in the country. Whatever lies ahead for America and the rest of the world, people will have to adapt to the Trump era.