Mangled mandate

   Back in 2024, I wrote a column about why Donald Trump was likely to win the US presidential election. My words turned out to be true and I have repeated some of them down the page a bit.
   Trump did win the election as he got 49.8 per cent of the popular vote and 58 per cent of the Electoral College votes. To say the least, Trump got a substantial mandate. My words from 2024 explain why he did get that vote.
   What my words didn’t say is that he would mangle his mandate very badly, basically destroy it. That destruction came about as he became totally swallowed by his own big head, his ego. Being humble for Trump is difficult. Maybe he listened to the song, “Oh Lord, it’s hard to be humble when you are perfect in every way”. That song is meant to be a joke and now Trump has become a joke and dragged the United States into being a joke as well.
   It is sad as Trump had some good ideas and as noted below he appealed to a lot of voters, won the election and then blew it pretty badly. 

   What I did say in 2024…
   “If Donald Trump is elected, it will be because people are sick of the stands taken by the Democrats who are shamelessly backed by the majority of the media and the entertainment industry.
   That stand, if you can actually call it a stand or platform, is contrary to what the majority of people believe. I call the Democratic stand “the accepted narrative”.
   Many people are sick and tired of being told what they have to think, what they have to believe, what they have to say, what they can and can’t say.
   Most people know that the so-called Woke Movement is mostly nonsense and some of it is just destructive to individuals and to society. Even left-leaning commentators like comedian Bill Maher have turned on the Democrats saying the “woke” movement is largely nonsense. I think the breaking point for Maher came when the woke promoters said the U.S. is worse off than even before. He quickly shot down that theory by comparing today to the U.S. slavery days, the 1950s segregation days, the levels of education compared to past eras, the average life expectancy and the level of prosperity compared to many decades ago. Yes, there is a lot of progress that needs to be made, but to say the Americans are worse off than ever before is just plain silly. If the U.S is such a bad place, then why are people willing to risk dying to get into the country.
   The left wing, or the Democrats, could easily lose a very winnable election because they are so out of touch with the beliefs, desires and needs of the average citizen”.

   What about the upcoming U.S. elections?
   So the 2024 election is history and the American midterms are soon to be upon us. Many are predicting a huge loss for Trump and his backers but unless the Democrats can move to the centre of the political scene and away from the “accepted narrative” that so badly cursed them in 2024, they could lose again. Democrats need to remember, “It’s about the economy stupid” and not about black or white or brown people, it’s not about hiring specific groups of people over and above competence and abilities. It’s about the economy. Most people vote based on the basic issue of “Is my family better off than it used to be.”

   So what about our Manitoba municipal elections?
   As of the date of this paper (Sept. 4), there’s only 18 days to get nominations in to the respective municipal election officers. All municipal offices have the details and necessary paper work to fill out. A number of experienced political observers are predicting a high level of turnover from the current councils. I have been told that some are crediting 75 per cent turnover but that seems high. However the pay isn’t great and the abuse level can be tough sometimes. Abuse of elected officials is a bad thing and should not happen.

   Younger people need to run
   It’s good to have experienced people on councils. But there are reasons to have young people too. Young people have good ideas and may have a more modern view of the world. But there’s another reason. When councils make decisions, the young people will be paying for those decisions a lot longer than the older people will.
   Disclaimer: The views expressed in this column are the writer’s personal views and are not to be taken as being the view of the Banner & Press staff.