The late, great Senator John McCain, who knew his share of tragedy, once famously quipped: “It’s always darkest – before it turns pitch black.” Which is how most of us felt Tuesday night. Just when we thought it couldn’t get any worse, it did.
It was hard to process the pain of watching Donald Trump win – after the most negative, disgusting, cringe-worthy campaign ever – and win not only the Electoral College, but the popular vote as well. It’s still hard to believe that over half the American people said it’s OK to elect a convicted felon as p resident of the United States.
True to form, the commentariat was quick to lay the blame for Kamala Harri s’ defeat: on Joe Biden for not dropping out sooner; on the Democratic Party, for not understanding the concerns of working-class families; on the media, for not holding Trump accountable for his gutter rhetoric; on Harris herself for not totally breaking from Joe Biden.
Truth be told, there’s a kernel of truth in all of them. But what struck me most was: Why aren’t we blaming those who are most responsible? The people who voted for him? I was reminded of the colorful California Democratic Party operative Dick Tuck, who ran unsuccessfully for State Senate in 1966. The next morning, Tuck opened his concessionary news conference with the now-famous statement: “The people have spoken – the bastards!”
Yes, the people have spoken. But that doesn’t mean they always get it right. And this year, they got it dangerously wrong. It’s unbelievable that the majority of Americans would tell the rest of the world: Here’s Donald Trump: a pathological liar; a serial sexual abuser; a man convicted on 34 felony counts of covering up hush payments to a porn star; a man found guilty of massive fraud; charged with stealing top secret presidential documents and sending an armed mob to attack the United States Capitol; the oldest man ever to run for president, and already showing serious signs of mental illness.
Here are his draconian campaign promises: to round up and deport 15 million undocumented workers; to sic the Justice Department on his political opponents and members of the media; to trash the Constitution; to deploy the U.S. military in city streets; to eliminate the Affordable Care Act; to cancel all climate change programs created by Joe Biden; to operate above the law with total immunity; and for sure, given the opportunity, to sign a nationwide abortion ban.
Yet a majority of voters concluded that no, Trump’s not perfect, but, out of 345 million Americans, he’s still the best man we could find to be president of the United States. Really? Is the job pool that small?
Let’s be honest. As difficult as it may be to admit, there are two reasons above all others why Kamala Harris did not prevail, no matter how good a campaign she ran: racism and sexism. For the second time this century, Americans rejected a woman to lead the country. And if they weren’t ready to trust a woman for the job, they were even less likely to trust a woman of color.
And, of course, in every speech, Donald Trump fueled the flames of sexism and racism, calling Harris a “monster,” “low-IQ,” “mentally impaired,” and “only pretending to be Black.” The best-selling merch at Trump’s rallies was a sweatshirt with the slogan: “Say No to the Hoe.”
With Trump parading as the Super Macho Male Action Figure – I’m tough, I fight, I’ll kill anybody who gets in my way – the election turned into a boys v. girls contest. The boys won. Decency and civility lost.
The results of this election are depressing enough to make you want to forget about politics altogether. Why fight for the truth, when most Americans don’t care about the truth anymore? In fact, I’d all but decided to cancel my two weekly podcasts and columns. But then I heard Kamala Harr is’ plea in her concession speech at Howard University. “The important thing is don’t ever give up,” she told her supporters. “Don’t ever stop trying to make the world a better place. … This is not a time to throw up our hands. This is a time to roll up our sleeves.”
She’s right. So we’ll carry on. We must carry on. But I, for one, will do so with far less hope. I thought Americans were better than this. I thought character mattered. I thought we wanted leaders we could look up to and be proud of. I was wrong.
Bill Press’ column is syndicated by Tribune Content Agency. His email address is [email protected].Â