Why did the Americans elect Trump?

The American people voted for their new President and Congress members on November 8^th. Not only the US but the entire world monitored the election campaign of both parties with great interest since everyone was curious about how their countries would be affected with the new government. They were wondering if the US would continue to interfere in foreign countries’ conflicts or if it would focus on their own people’s needs and interests.

The election resulted in an unexpected way and Trump became the 45^thPresident of the United States. Some of the statements he made during his election campaign vis a vis immigrants, women or Islam are wholly unacceptable; however, we hope that he will change once he actively comes to office because he gave messages of unity to his fellow citizens and promised to have good relations with those states that would like to get along with them in his acceptance speech. Besides, he corrected some of his comments by saying he would not allow illegal immigrants to enter the country while numerous legal immigrants were in the queue for being accepted to America. It is noteworthy to mention here that the main cause for the immigration issue is the current situation in the Middle East. Everybody is cognizant that it was the erroneous American policy that turned the region into a warzone because according to the analyses Pentagon put forth in 2003, 2007 and 2014, both climate change and the regime changes they made would be the threat multiplier to increase immigration.

It is not hard to predict how the situation in the Middle East would be if Clinton were elected as the President. She held quite a hawkish policy in the Middle East when she was incumbent as the Secretary of State and she kept a similar stance in her statements during her campaign. This would definitely mean more war in the region. Even though Obama came to office with promises of change in America and his 2008 campaign slogans included expressions closely related to his stance such as, “Yes, we can,” “Change,” “Hope”, he did not keep to his words. During his campaign, he promised to keep America away from foreign conflicts and crises and to hold a peaceful policy and he even received Noble Peace Prize during his incumbency. Yet, what we see now is that the United States is actively in multiple military operations in the Middle East. Similarly, Secretary Clinton would be very likely to follow his route since she adopts a parallel foreign policy and she is under the influence of some US lobbies just as Obama was and it is very unlikely to make decisions discrepant from these lobbies supporting the Democratic Party.

Consequently, this election result is indicating the frustration of the American people of the status quo they have been dealing with for more than eight years. They elected Obama because they thought he would make a difference but he could not make it happen. It would not be fair to put the blame only on him because the President is not the sole authority to make the decisions in the US; he has to take the consent of the Congress, which consists of the House of Representatives and the House of Senates. The senators and the representatives have the right to veto the President’s decisions with the exception of his executive orders. When we take Obama administration into consideration, we see the dominance of GOP members in both of the branches of the Congress, and thus Obama’s hands were tied to implement what he wanted. From this perspective, this new American government is fortunate since the new President and the Congress are all from the same party and it is something Americans have not witnessed since the 1920s. Despite the fact that it is not a secret some of the Republican members are not in favor of Trump’s policy, with his new administration Trump will probably seek ways to get along with them and find a common ground as to their disputes. 

If we analyze the election from a Middle Eastern standpoint, we see some countries who are at ease with the results and some who are worried. It is good to see an America extending a peaceful hand to Russia because such an alliance may well mean a solution for the bloodshed in Syria and Iraq. Trump’s stance regarding Turkey is also pleasing as his Secretary of Defense candidate Lieutenant General Michael T. Flynn penned an article in the Hill stating the importance of Turkey as America’s ally and that Turkey needs their support. It is hopeful for our country since Turkey had very tense relations with the US lately due to their operations in Syria and their supply of weapons to the YPG, an affiliate of the PKK terrorist organization. When Iran is taken into account, we view a disappointed country regarding Trump’s election. It is because Trump made some criticism touching on the Iran Nuclear Deal signed after on and off negotiations with the associated states. It was considered a democratic victory for the Iranians since it meant lifting of the sanctions and an opportunity of involving into the international arena after a long waiting. Our Iranian brothers should not be disturbed with the result because first of all the Iranian Nuclear agreement is an international contract signed by P5+1 and cannot be abrogated only by the US. Additionally, after the elections his tone changed and he said he would review the nuclear deal instead of cancelling it. Everyone knows very well that campaign statements do not always coincide with what they do when they officially take office.

Since Trump would like to have dovish foreign policy in the Middle East, he will very likely seek to keep the good relations recently built with Iranian people. Being a good partner of Russia and Turkey will also affect America by continuing to make progress with Iran. Such a stance will definitely win the hearts of Iranians and this would be a fair deal to prevent anti-American reactions that would rise in Iran if the contract is broken and this would not benefit anyone either in the States or in our region. As Muslims from the Middle East who have suffered from the ongoing bloodshed long enough, we expect President Trump to have a better policy for the Middle East than the former administration and find a diplomatic solution for the crisis in Iraq and Syria.