Voices from the US, Post-11/9

On November 8, Donald J. Trump became the 45th President-elect of the United States of America, defeating his democratic counterpart, Hillary Clinton. Trump’s triumph shattered the entire country, especially its eastern and western parts, which massively supported Clinton’s candidacy.

The morning of November 9 in the US was arguably well-described by a single phrase, "Never forget 9/11, always regret 11/9,” comparing Trump’s victory in the presidential race to the 9/11 tragedy.

The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, where I am now based, has been an integral part of the US electoral process given that its Dean, Retired US Admiral James Stavridis, was expected to take one of the key roles in Clinton’s potential national security team.

Stavridis, on the morning of November 9, summarized his position by saying, “As we take a collective deep breath and review the outcome of this long and unfortunately ugly Presidential campaign, there are more questions than answers for the US body politic domestically.”

The new President-elect is expected to face a very full inbox over the coming months.

“Given his lack of experience in both governance generally and foreign affairs particularly, he will hopefully bring a businessman’s ability to prioritize and ultimately triage some of the most pressing problems ahead,” Stavridis said, continuing, “he will also bring in a largely unknown foreign policy, national security, intelligence and cyber security team.”

Fletcher School students, representing over 35 countries worldwide, expressed their clearly anti-Trump views, stating that the future US Commander-in-Chief should not be a person with racist views and extreme disrespect toward women and immigrants in the nation. In addition, the young people spoke of their concern about Trump’s opposition of NATO and his respect toward Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

Nicholas Normand, a French MA student at Fletcher wrote on his Facebook page, “America, you shattered so much of the confidence I had in the future, so much of what I believe in.”

“And the winner is... Vladimir Putin,” said a PhD student from Central Europe. 

“I expect that history will probably agree this was our turning point. Let's try to go out with some dignity, at least,” says Cody Parker, a Fletcher graduate student from New York.

Even though Trump has been distinguished by his appeasement rhetoric toward Russia and harsh critique of NATO, it is a matter of discussion who will take America’s key national security offices in the near future.

Among other variables and Trump’s alleged unpredictable personality, his future policies and strategies will probably be open to analysis once he composes his cabinet and makes his very first moves in America’s domestic and foreign affairs.

Zviad Adzinbaia is an MA candidate in Law and Diplomacy at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

From US-based GT journalist, Zviad Adzinbaia