The Remaking of Trump

The Advocate

By Onikepo Braithwaite

Onikepo.braithwaite@thisdaylive.com

We’re Going to Make America Great Again!

I had hoped that I wouldn’t have to write something like this again, I mean similar to the piece I wrote in November 2016, “We’re Going to Make America Great Again”, when Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton lost the election to Donald Trump. Alas! I was wrong. History has repeated itself, as Vice President Kamala Harris also lost the 2024 US Presidential election to Donald J. Trump, the 45th and incoming 47th President of the United States of America.

I also never thought I would have anything in common, with President-Elect Donald Trump. Again, I was wrong. One thing I think I agree with him on, are his views on the issue of prayers, which most of us were brought up with from Primary School Assembly, being banned in schools; yet, instead, children are taught nonsense about gender from a tender age in their schools, even though they are too young to understand the issues, let alone make informed decisions. How can children who are not legally  permitted to drive a vehicle or consume alcohol until they are 16, be able to decide whether they want to change their sex, and may even  start to be given puberty blockers as early as the age of 8? It doesn’t sound right. The right to make such life changing decisions, if at all, should be left for those who have the capacity to understand the implications of same, definitely not via the indoctrination of children. 

The introduction of all sorts new concepts like multiple genders; men who wake up and declare themselves to be female, and ask us to proclaim and accept them as such, when the naked eye and logic tell us they are men; men, created physically stronger than women, now permitted to compete against women in sports to the detriment of women, because they have declared themselves to be females (call it by what it truly is – unfair advantage – given to men who are too weak to compete against their fellow men); and, the general attempt at the desecration, dissipation or redefinition of womanhood. Tah! President Trump’s views on the aforementioned gender issue, appear to be correct – at least in a video of him I saw, in which he aired his views.

The Religious/Moral Point of View

Some people considered the American Presidential election from the religious point of view, and argued that, as unsuitable to be a President as Trump may be, the fact that he is firm and adamant in upholding God’s creation of the male and female genders (see Holy Bible Genesis 1:27; 2:21-23; Holy Quran 15:26; 32:7-8; 7:189) and is opposed to the man-made creation of multiple genders etc, it is for this purpose that God gave him victory in the recently concluded election! 

Others had imagined that the US Supreme Court overturning the decision in Roe v Wade 410 U.S. 113 (1973) per Justice Samuel Alito for the majority, could mar Trump’s chances in the election, as the decision declared that the US Constitution doesn’t confer a right to abortion thereby affecting the right of women to choose, and possibly making Trump unpopular with the ladies, at least, those within the childbearing age, seeing as Alito and three other Supreme Court Justices who supported the decision are Trump nominees. However, it didn’t affect Trump’s popularity, obviously not enough to make him lose the election. 

Those who are not quite as religious, put Trump’s victory down to his immigration and economic policies, which obviously resonated well with the majority that voted for him, while Harris may have suffered some backlash on account of her Principal, President Biden, along with gender discrimination and racism. Although, Trump was also able to garner more votes among Black and Latino men, as well as the younger voters and the working class. For example, Pennsylvania, one of the Swing/Battleground States which has the highest number of Electoral College votes – 19, has a vast number of White working class voters – they are said to make up about half of Pennsylvania’s eligible voting population. Another Swing State, Michigan, even though its population is more diverse, also has a large working class population, which also includes many Whites too. 

American Presidential Voting System 

However, the American Presidential election has two levels – the popular vote, and the indirect election of the President through the Electoral College. The system of the Electoral College has been criticised for a number of reasons, including the fact that the Electoral College isn’t the popular vote that directly elects the American President, contrary to the norms of democracy, but a small group of Electors. 

In the popular vote, all eligible voters cast their ballot for the Presidential Candidate of their choice, and the Electors. Before the election, the States already have their slates of Electors to the Electoral College, who are expected to vote according to the result of the popular votes in their States (though no law provides that Electors must vote like that). The Party whose Candidate wins the popular election in a State, usually determines the slate of Electors from that State in about 48 States, with a few exceptions. So, for example, the slate of Electors from Pennsylvania are Republican, since Trump won the popular votes there. Electoral College votes are allocated to each State based on the Census, and the number of votes per State are valid for two Presidential election cycles (for instance, the 2020 Census is valid for the 2024 and 2028 elections). The Electoral College consists of a total of 538 Electors, and once a Candidate secures 270 electoral votes at the Electoral College, the Candidate is declared the winner of the election. The Candidate who wins the popular vote, on some occasions hasn’t won at the Electoral College, like in the case of Senator Hillary Clinton. 

In effect, it is the Electors, and not the popular votes, who directly elect the President and Vice President. 

American Demographics, Gender Discrimination and Racism

America’s  population is about 345 million plus people; 76% are White, and about 50.5% of the population are women, again, of which about 75% of the women are White. And, from these demographics, one sees that the Whites are in the majority in USA (as Blacks and other races together form 24% – minority). It has been argued that many White American female voters choose colour over gender, and that a good number of them may have been less than truthful in the polls, claiming that they would vote for VP Harris when they had absolutely no intention of doing so. One cannot deny that, racism also played a role in Trump’s emergence.

In 2024, President Trump got about 73.5 million popular votes and 295 electoral votes, while VP Harris got about 69.1 million popular votes and 226 electoral votes. In 2016, President Trump got 62.9 million popular votes and 306 electoral votes, to Senator Clinton’s 65.8 million popular votes and 232 electoral votes. 

My opinion may seem simplistic, but, in 2020, when Donald Trump was set against a White Male Candidate like himself, President Joe Biden, Americans were able to make informed decisions, seemingly based on indices that are important in determining the suitability of a candidate – manifesto, track record, personal morals, etc, as opposed to pedestrian reasons; but, when it came to running against women, it didn’t matter about their superiority in intellect to Trump, their manifestos, personal morals and ethics etc. President Biden beat Trump in both the popular and electoral votes – 81.2 million/306 electoral votes, to Trump’s 71.4 million/ 232 electoral votes. 

The bottom line is that, America is still not yet ready for a female President, particularly five out of the seven Swing States – Michigan, Wisconsin Arizona, Georgia and Pennsylvania. In 2016, their Electors voted for Trump (over Clinton); but, in 2020, they voted for Biden (over Trump); and in 2024, they again voted for Trump (over Harris). This appears to point to a pattern of gender discrimination. If the Democrats had replaced President Biden with a strong White Male Presidential Candidate, would Trump have won the election? Trump also made an issue of VP Harris’ Jamaican/Indian racial identity. We can see that the Electors in these five swing States, appear to have their own stereotypes about the role of women in politics or society, or what other reason do they have to completely swing and change sides, when the sex of Trump’s opponents changed?

Isn’t it bizarre that almost 250 years after America’s Declaration of Independence in 1776, a country that is considered to be the beacon of democracy, enlightenment and advancement, has  never had a female President, while just 41 years post-independence, Benazir Bhutto became the 11th Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (1988), a Muslim majority country, that is also traditional and conservative; Indira Ghandi was Prime Minister of India from 1966-1977 and from 1980 until her assassination in 1984; Margaret Thatcher, Theresa May and Liz Truss have all been British Prime Ministers. Back home in Africa, Liberia and Malawi have had female Presidents, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (2006-2018) and Joyce Banda (2012-2014) respectively, while, Her Excellency, Samia Suluhu Hassan is the current President of Tanzania. 

14th Amendment to the US Constitution & Section 42 of the Nigerian Constitution 

It appears that to a very large extent, the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution which provides that all people born or naturalised in the US are citizens and have the right to equal protection under the law, and Titles VII & IX of the Civil Rights Act 1964, which prohibit discrimination inter alia on the basis of sex and race, may be almost as decorative as the Preamble to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended in 2023)(the Constitution) and Section 42 thereof, which provide for equality, equity and fairness for all Nigerians, and freedom from discrimination. Just as there is racism in USA, we have tribalism in Nigeria – two sides of the same coin, while both countries have gender discrimination in common. See Lafia Local Government v Nasarawa State Government & Ors (2012) LPELR-20602(SC) per Olabode Rhodes-Vivour, JSC; Mojekwu v Iwuchukwu (2004) LPELR-1903(SC) per Ignatius Chukwudi Pats-Acholonu, JSC.

Discrimination in politics, denies society of having the brightest and the best in governance. Racism and Tribalism often cause violence, division and strife between different ethnic groups, particularly during elections, while what is required is inclusiveness, in order to foster unity for the greater good of the society. Nigerian politicians have mastered the art of using tribal sentiments as a tool to garner voter support, while gender discrimination against women and their patronisation by men is rife. In Nigeria, instead of increasing in number, women in elective positions reduce after every election cycle. The question is, how to make these aforementioned constitutional and statutory provisions against discrimination a reality, and entrench them in society.

Conclusion 

Unlike Trump himself after he lost the Presidential election in November 2020/ the violent incident on Capitol Hill on January 6, 2021, and Nigerian politicians who would be preparing their election petitions by now, VP Kamala Harris conceded to him and accepted her defeat graciously, just like Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton had done in 2016. Nigerian Politicians should take a leaf from the book of these trail blazing women. 

Finally, the large number of popular votes for VP Harris clearly shows that, almost as many in number as those who voted for President Trump, do not believe that he can make America great again. Let’s wait and see. Luckily for America, they have fairly strong institutions, which another four years of President Trump cannot destroy.